A bigger threat than Bil Oil to Environment????

[JerseyGator01]

Will this be the liberal's new war? Per a new study, this entity is responsible for killing up to 24 BILLION animals each year. Has Big Oil every come close to this?

This entity is your once considered harmless, friendly neighborhood kitty kat.

I can see it now: the war against Big Kitty.

From the link:

Cats are one of the top threats to US wildlife, killing billions of animals each year, a study suggests.

The authors estimate they are responsible for the deaths of between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually.

Writing in Nature Communications, the scientists said stray and feral cats were the worst offenders.

However, they added that pet cats also played a role and that owners should do more to reduce their impact.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21236690

Should I get a tax deduction for keeping my cat indoors?

[Emmitto]

Actually this isn't a new issue. There was a report a couple of years ago (U of Nebraska, maybe) claiming the feral cat issue costs like $15B annually.

The town in VA where my mom lives had a feral cat outbreak a year or so ago. They were all over the place, in yards, roads, sidewalks, etc. They were killing pet cats and squirrels and birds and all sorts of stuff. And supposedly they carry diseases and something that pregnant women are especially susceptible to.

FWIW, they did a catch-spay/neuter-release thing as opposed to straight round up & kill. Evidently it worked although it took a while. Turns out that when they can't breed freely they die out pretty quickly. The average life span of a feral cat is only three years or so.

Anyhoo, this actually is a valid problem. Although I doubt that huge economic impact figure. And most people I know who are birders or some other type of animal enthusiast do too. But I believe that some prominent birder organization, and I'm taking it on faith that there is such a thing, used that study to endorse killing feral cats.

I may be remembering some of these details inaccurately but I'm confident that that's the gist and can't bring myself to actually look up links. Sorry.

[oragator1]

If they start to threaten any endangered species you will hear about it more. They had to wipe out a feral pigs and invasive golden eagles (who came in after DDT wiped out bald eagles in the area who normally keep other birds away) to save the island fox in the channel islands in SoCal. Horses are considered feral in the west and their number have been knocked down from the low millions to the tens of thousands and are managed to that number now.
So if cats ever become a threat they will have no problem addressing it. Individual towns probably address it from a nuisance angle more than anything though.

[Emmitto]

Originally Posted by oragator1

If they start to threaten any endangered species you will hear about it more. They had to wipe out a feral pigs and invasive golden eagles (who came in after DDT wiped out bald eagles in the area who normally keep other birds away) to save the island fox in the channel islands in SoCal. Horses are considered feral in the west and their number have been knocked down from the low millions to the tens of thousands and are managed to that number now.
So if cats ever become a threat they will have no problem addressing it. Individual towns probably address it from a nuisance angle more than anything though.

Well it is true that local businesses in the example I described complained that people were avoiding them because these cats were everywhere. So if true, that was certainly an economic impact. I don't know of a real threat to specific local species other than general increased deaths of the local fauna. But it isn't difficult to imagine that scenario. I saw pictures of public places where there were like 20 or 30 cats clearly visible. So I'd say you're right.

[HALLGATOR]

I believe our bird population has decreased over the years and something is causing it. We have bunches of feral cats but you don't really notice it unless you get out at night and sit still in the dark. They are everywhere. Birds eat lots of bugs and cats will raid nests or catch them outright. We have a spayed female who has plenty to eat all of the time but yet she still catches birds. It's just in their nature.

[oragator1]

Originally Posted by HALLGATOR

I believe our bird population has decreased over the years and something is causing it. We have bunches of feral cats but you don't really notice it unless you get out at night and sit still in the dark. They are everywhere. Birds eat lots of bugs and cats will raid nests or catch them outright. We have a spayed female who has plenty to eat all of the time but yet she still catches birds. It's just in their nature.

What types of birds?

[HALLGATOR]

Originally Posted by oragator1

What types of birds?

Birds overall. I just don't seem to see as many birds as we did have at one time. Bluejays, Red Birds, Mockingbirds, Doves, Sparrows or others. I'm not a bird watcher but I was outside last summer and it seemed real quite and what I realized was there was not many birds around. It could be other things causing it as well but I know we have lots and lots of feral cats. I've also wondered if the up-tick in the cat population can be tied to dogs not roaming around like they once did. Fewer natural enemies now.

[Gatormb]

Cats. Smart enough to know they need you to be fed and taken care of. Give you enough attention to insure that, but otherwise tend to ignore you. You can learn a lot about women by owning a cat.

I kid. I kid.

[enviroGator]

Originally Posted by Gatormb

Cats. Smart enough to know they need you to be fed and taken care of. Give you enough attention to insure that, but otherwise tend to ignore you. You can learn a lot about women by owning a cat.

I kid. I kid.

LOL!

[Emmitto]

Originally Posted by Gatormb

Cats. Smart enough to know they need you to be fed and taken care of. Give you enough attention to insure that, but otherwise tend to ignore you. You can learn a lot about women by owning a cat.

I kid. I kid.

And they're killing machines that toy with their prey. Cats, that is.