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Title: Bird groups estimate cats kill one billion birds every year on this continent. North American song bird populations have declined by 40% and research shows that cats account for almost a quarter of this decline.
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URL Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/s ... 1/05/f-feral-cats-current.html
Published: Feb 16, 2012
Author: cbc
Post Date: 2012-02-16 23:04:54 by wudidiz
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Keywords: None
Views: 276
Comments: 18
Cat populations are booming in North America, sparking a major conflict between cat lovers and people trying to protect birds. In this photo, a stray cat carries a pigeon in its mouth after catching it in the street. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters) Subscribe to *Humor-Weird News*
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#1. To: wudidiz (#0)
The cats catch the old and sickly birds that aren't on their toes/claws anymore. The young, sharp ones don't let cats slip up on them. That also keeps down the disease rates among birds. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
Do you think it's true that cats in n.a. kill 1 Billion birds a year?
Personally I find that questionable. I would want to see something in the way of a valid study before I accepted that number. One million perhaps, but a billion? The bird groups say they have one. I'm not buying the 'one billion' figure. I wonder if people would take notice if the birding societies quoted 'six million'??? ;-)
#2. To: ratcat (#1)
"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.” ~ Patrick Henry
#3. To: wudidiz, ratcat (#2)
Do you think it's true that cats in n.a. kill 1 Billion birds a year?
#4. To: Original_Intent (#3)
valid study
"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.” ~ Patrick Henry
#5. To: wudidiz (#0)
-Alex Kurtagic
#6. To: Original_Intent, ratcat, X-15, all (#3)
They're saying the bird population has declined by 40% and that cats are responsible for 1/4 of that.
"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.” ~ Patrick Henry
#7. To: ratcat (#1)
We have loads o' feral cats around here that I shoot on sight. I get tired of them killing my winter cardinals. Plus, they tend to intimidate our two cats. They gots ta go!
#8. To: X-15 (#5)
Ha ha haaaaaa! I see what you did there.
#9. To: wudidiz (#6)
Left out is the fact that coyotes are everywhere and ensure that feral cats don't live very long in the woods, not to mention that coyotes raid suburban 'hoods for the free meals when people turn their kittycats out at night.
-Alex Kurtagic
#10. To: X-15, wudidiz (#9)
I hear they're also rather partial to Yorkies and other ankle biters. Cougars like them too. Less filling. Left out is the fact that coyotes are everywhere and ensure that feral cats don't live very long in the woods, not to mention that coyotes raid suburban 'hoods for the free meals when people turn their kittycats out at night.
#11. To: wudidiz (#0)
An easy solution, if you own a cat, is to put a tiny bell on its collar to warn birds. But I am not as sure as the author of this article that birds are superior and more deserving of protection than cats.
#12. To: wudidiz (#0)
Sure, Monsanto and spraying crap in the skies has nothing to do with bird deaths. Bring in the cats for the line up and ignore the usual suspects.
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11
"Life's tough, and even tougher if you're stupid." --John Wayne
#13. To: ratcat (#1)
Cats climb trees and eat the baby birds out of the nest. Cats should not be allowed to run free. The slaughter they engage in is enormous. The cats catch the old and sickly birds that aren't on their toes/claws anymore. The young, sharp ones don't let cats slip up on them. That also keeps down the disease rates among birds. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
"You shall have fun, no matter what you do." -- Turtle
#14. To: wudidiz (#2)
I don't think there is anyway to know. There are far too many birds that fly into the windows on my house and kill themselves - and then the cats find them and eat them. Otherwise, the cats couldn't catch them. Do you think it's true that cats in n.a. kill 1 Billion birds a year?
#15. To: Turtle (#13)
That never happens. Birds build their nests far out on the limbs where the weight of a cat cannot be supported. Cats could get baby birds if people place nesting boxes in improper locations. However, birds normally do not build nests in places where they see cats roaming around. They aren't that stupid. We have trees that are 40 - 60 feet high and I've never seen a cat climb higher than about 12 feet. I have seen Blue Jays raiding the nests of other birds on many occasions, eating the babies. We have three cats now. One is about 19 years old and goes outside for about 2 minutes every 2 weeks or so. One has 3 legs and cannot climb threes. The third is a stray that we took in which is young and very adept at climbing. She has caught one bird and that may have been one that flew into the patio door. Cats climb trees and eat the baby birds out of the nest.
#16. To: Obnoxicated (#7)
Yes, some feral tomcats are a real problem. We had one cat killed by them and another one disappeared (years ago). Some are so vicious they will tear up and/ or kill your pets. We've captured one in a trap and took him for a ride. We've had to kill two that were heavily diseased. But mostly, they just kill each other and we have to keep our pets inside until it's over. Recently, our neighbor, who was responsible for most of the (unneutered) cats in the area, has had her population die out in the last 8 months or so. Several were killed on the highway and one or two died from cat fights. I hope she doesn't bring anymore home because she doesn't take care of them or feed them properly. The stray we took in came from her bunch. We had her neutered. We have a well-populated bird feeding station (for years) and the cats will sit out there for a while but they never catch anything. We always run them off after a while so the birds can continue to feed. We have loads o' feral cats around here that I shoot on sight. I get tired of them killing my winter cardinals. Plus, they tend to intimidate our two cats. They gots ta go!
#17. To: wudidiz, 4 (#0)
#18. To: Jethro Tull (#17)
a bird after my own heart. lol.
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