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“Cats are generally a pain in the arse for conservation. They are universally hated by field herpatologists and we only just stop short of advocating the shooting of them.”
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-- British conservation biologist Dr. Keith Corbett, making a point. |
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Did you know that: |
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- Worldwide, cats may have contributed to more extinctions of bird species than any other cause except direct habitat destruction.
- Killings by cats are threatening the survival of Least Terns, Piping Plovers, Snowy Plovers, Loggerhead Shrikes, Kirtland's Warblers, marsh rabbits, several rodent and reptile species that birds of prey feed on, and a host of native species in Australia.
- Cat predation is a root cause of a 10% annual decline in U.S. meadowlark populations and the ongoing loss of California’s state bird, the quail.
- A study in Illinois found that cats were killing 2.5 billion vertebrates per year in a 26,000 square mile area.
- Ornithologist Rich Stallcup estimates that there are over 44 million cats outdoors in the U.S. killing perhaps as many as 4 million songbirds daily.
- A four year study indicated that the 1.2 million pet cats in Wisconsin kill 400 million animals each year, including about 39 million birds.
- The 5 million cats in Canada are estimated to kill 42 to 70 million birds annually
- 15% to 30% of the animals treated by animal injury care centers were injured by cats, which is substantially more than were hit by cars.
- A Welsh biologist has estimated that domestic cats account for 79.4% of all land animals (excluding livestock) directly killed by humans and their agents in his country.
- Fewer than 20% of wild animals attacked by cats survive.
- Common house cats left outdoors have spread the feline leukemia virus to cougars and may have infected the endangered Florida panther with distemper.
- Cats are instinctive hunters that will kill even when well fed.
- Cats usually catch their prey quickly, but take up to thirty minutes to torment it before killing it.
- One female cat and her offspring can produce 420,00 cats in seven years. [Suggestion]
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