Cat predators cause threat to wildlife
A study has suggested that cats are one of the main threats to wildlife in the US, after estimating how many billions of birds and mammals they kill annually.
Scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed numerous studies that had previously researched cats as predators.
The scientists found that by compiling all the information, the number of wildlife killings by cats – predominantly strays and ferals – were much higher than thought.
More than four times as many birds were found to have been killed by cats than previously estimated, according to the latest study, with between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds a year.
A further 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals are killed by cats each year said the study, published in the Nature Communications journal.
Concluding that more animals die because of cats in the US than in road accidents, collisions with building or poising, the scientists added that cats are also responsible for the global extinction of 33 species.
The scientists also revealed that the most likely mammals to be killed by cats are mice, shrews, voles, squirrels and rabbits.
"Our study suggests that they are the top threat to US wildlife," commented Dr Pete Marra of SCBI. "We hope that the large amount of wildlife mortality indicated by our research convinces some cat owners to keep their cats indoors and that it alerts policymakers, wildlife managers and scientists to the large magnitude of wildlife mortality caused by cat predation."
A spokesperson for RSPCA added that cat hunting can be reduced by a third with the use of a collar bell on pet cats.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
