FYI, Tweeters. Im sure all of us are socially responsible individuals,
but perhaps you could pass this along to a friend or neighbor who
may not have been aware.

H Hertzel

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 96 19:59 CDT
Subject: kitty kitty

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, about six seconds, an
estimated 600 wild birds somewhere in the United States will be killed by
cats, domestic cats and their feral brothers and sisters.
That's 100 wild birds killed each second, 6,000 wild birds killed each
minute, 360,000 dead birds per hour.
Well over eight million birds per day.
How many wild birds are killed in this country each year by domestic cats?
The stunning total is figured to be just over three billion dead birds.
The last time we wrote about cats in this newsletter we got a letter highly
critical of what was termed our scurrilous anti-cat propaganda.
Let's say right now we are not anti-cat. We are simply strongly pro-bird.
And this is not propaganda.
The information we are dealing with comes from the same source as our first
article, the newsletter of the Point Reyes (California) Bird Observatory.
The latest article was written in the summer 1995 issue by David Evans,
Ph.D., executive director of the observatory. The references he uses in his
article are cited at the end of these comments.
Studies show, Dr. Evans points out, that well-fed cats kill as many prey as
other cats, illustrating that the urge to hunt is distinct from the need to
eat. The well-fed house cat is as likely to kill birds as its wild relative
which must hunt or starve.
Dr. Evans writes of a study in England which showed that for certain birds
cat predation was "far greater than all natural predation combined."
He writes of a study in Virginia which conservatively estimated that each
domestic cat there kills at least 26 birds each year in urban areas or 83
in rural areas, representing over 26 million dead birds in that state
alone. A similar study estimated that at least 19 million songbirds and
140,000 game birds are lost annually in Wisconsin.
Since there are over 60 million pet cats in this country, these studies
indicate that these pets kill an estimated 1,560 million birds each year.
"The magnitude of cat predation becomes more staggering when you realize an
even greater number of small mammals are killed," he writes.
Add the predation by the 60 million feral cats that roam the United States
and you get three billion birds killed each year!
You can't legally kill a songbird, but your cat can. Dr. Evans notes that
the Wisconsin study showed that "94 percent of the cat owners questioned
wanted songbirds on their property, yet many were totally unaware that cats
ever killed songbirds, and many of these cat owners were unwilling to
reduce the number of cats for the benefit of wildlife."
What can be done?
Dr. Evans suggests that cat owners must become responsible and neuter their
pets. People must care enough about their pets to stop uncontrolled
proliferation, he says. "Secondly," he writes, "abandoned or feral cats
have no place on public lands. We must raise our voice and direct local,
state, and federal officials to prohibit cat colonies on all public lands."
And finally, he says, "domestic cats should not be allowed to run free,
because even tricks like putting bells on cats are ineffective."
As our human population grows, Dr. Evans writes, "so does the number and
distribution of cats. However, many of the songbirds that brighten each
spring are declining dramatically, in part due to cat predation. We must
act now and not sacrifice our diverse bird life for the sport of feline
poachers."
We add to his comments our suggestion that birders become active in seeking
community control of cats. We lobby city, state, and federal officials
ceaselessly to save habitat. We testify against perceived hazards like
radio towers. It seems to be time to add cats to our lists.
References:
Morris, D., Cat-watching, London Zoo.
Churcher, P. B., and J. H. Lawton, 1987, Predation by domestic cats in an
English village, Journal of Zoology, 212:439-455.
George, William G., 1974, Domestic cats as predators and factors in winter
shortages of raptor prey. The Wilson Bulletin, 86(4):384-396.
Mitchell, Joseph C., 1992, Free-ranging domestic cat predation on native
vertebrates in rural and urban Virginia, Virginia Journal of Science, Vol.
43(IB):197-207.
Harrison, George, 1992, Is there a killer in your house?, National
Wildlife, 30(6)10-13.
Liberg, Olof, 1984, Food habits and prey impact by feral and house-based
domestic cats in a rural area in southern Sweden, Journal of Mammalogy,
65(3):424-432.
For a complete reference list, see: A bibliography of feral, stray, and
free-roaming cats in relation to wildlife conservation, compiled by Ronald
Jurek, April, 1994, California Dept. of Fish and Game, Nongame Bird and
Mammal Program Report No. 94-5.