"As an invasive species and superpredator, they do considerable ecological damage. In Australia, hunting by cats helped to drive at least 20 native mammals to extinction, and continues to threaten at least 124 more. Their introduction has caused the extinction of at least 33 endemic species on islands throughout the world. Feral and domestic cats kill billions of birds in the United States every year, where songbird populations continue to decline."
This, incidentally, is why I don't take people who make the "wind turbines kill birds" argument seriously. It's not false, but the number is very small compared to those killed by domestic cats and window collisions. So the loss is minimal provided they're not in a breeding area for an endangered species.
>Current research suggests that the overwhelming majority of bat fatalities are caused by collisions with turbine blades. There is some evidence to suggest that a phenomenon known as barotrauma may result in a small proportion of bat deaths, as well. Barotrauma involves tissue damage to air-containing structures, such as lungs, caused by rapid or excessive pressure change. Air pressure changes can occur at the edges of moving turbine blades and may help explain some bat fatalities.
>Between 2000 and 2011, an estimated 650,000 to 1.3 million bats have died from collisions with wind turbines in the United States and Canada (Arnett and Baerwald 2013). Additionally, as many as 400,000 estimated fatalities may have occurred in 2012.
>in the U.S. and Canada, at least 24 species of bats have been reported as killed by wind turbines. The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), all migratory tree bats, account for nearly 78% of the kills north of Mexico. The hoary bat accounts for 38% of the fatalities. A new study that looked at hoary bat mortality at wind energy facilities during 2014 revealed that populations of the species may plunge by a staggering 90 percent in the next 50 years if no action is taken.
>At some sites in the Midwest and Eastern U.S., species that are already battered by White-nose Syndrome (WNS), can account for up to 60% of wind-energy fatalities.
Two federally endangered species, the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) and the Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis), also have been killed by turbines.
This is not a good argument given that the victim populations typically are different species. The hawk population cares about cats eating songbirds just in so far that it removes some of their own food supply, not because it is threatened by cats.
There is also a big quality difference. Turbines kill raptors, eagles, storks and vultures. And some hunters kill huge amounts of migratory birds. You need to put all things together.
Birds know well that cats are dangerous. The real problem is the habitat loss and pesticides. The first force birds to nest in dangerous suboptimal places, where cats can catch them. The second makes them much more vulnerable to cats.
My understanding is that the idea that wind turbines kill birds in huge numbers is based on the original wind turbines. These were much smaller in radius and had many more blades and spun much faster.
Think of a giant farm water-pump windmill. Those things were bird blenders. Modern three blade wind turbines are a different beast, but many people have not caught up with the changes in engineering.
[ Also, some of the initial wind farms using the bird blenders (e.g. the Altamont Pass near Livermore, CA) were right on the Pacific Flyway, which is a massive migratory path. ]
I'm also thinking that birds will adapt because it seems like a relatively simple change in their behavior would fix the problem. Natural selection will play its course. The birds who are dumb enough to fly into wind turbines will get weeded out. Future generations of bird will be more fearful of wind turbines. This kind of selection can start to take place over a relatively short span of time. See peppered moth evolution [1].
The only effective solution I have found so far to prevent my cat from hunting too many small animals is to have her wear a bell. Is seems that prey are scared away and manage to escape. Before we put it on we used to find dead mice, lizards and birds everyday in the garden or in front of the door...
I've spent a lot of time living around wild cats, and I've yet to see a cat hunt a bird. Of course cats do hunt birds, but I'm very curious about how these figures are reached, in this case, how reliable those isotope studies are.
Another anecdote - my cat was 100% indoor first 6-8 month I had him. Then I started to let him outside during day and he started immediately to try to hunt. His first attempts were hilarious, like trying to hide just by laying down and flap around with his tail from excitement, birds would look funny at him and just casually jump away if he got too close. He also wore a bell all of the time, which made it even more impossible. But after half a year he started to consistently kill 1-3 animals per season, birds and mice. One time he killed a huge pigeon. And thats only the kills I know of, since he brought them back home to show off. Not saying that can account for billions, but thats just one cat who had everything against him and also was well fed at home.
Allow me to contribute another experience. At various times, I've lived alongside twelve different pet cats, owned by family members who were also avid birdwatchers; usually, the garden would be crowded with birds at the feeders.
In terms of individuals among the cats, I guess about half have tried to stalk and catch the birds, and of those probably about half were effective. But in terms of impact, that seemingly small quarter punched above their weight to be a total menace. Carcasses of the birds and other animals (even rabbits!) would keep showing up until they were stopped with a bell collar. If left to their own devices, I don't have trouble imagining they'd put a huge dent in the local ecosystem.
For this reason we walk our cat. With some training (and some - not all - cats) you can even get rid of the leash and let the animal roam whilst maintaining visual contact.
It's very different from walking a dog. Ours usually hides in his favourite spot and just sits there for 20 minutes straight, then takes his usual route, sniffing and rubbing his face on places where apparently other cats have been.
The upside is that you only need to do that once every 2-3 days.
Now that we're on quarantine he's been calling out other cats from the balcony. Fortunately on Monday we'll be allowed outside, so he'll get the chance to catch up with his buddies - or actually - their scents.
I'm what you would call an accidental crazy cat person that started off feeding one feral cat but was unable to catch and get fixed and wound up multiplying (finally have it under control). One of the cats was great and would just naturally walk with you. We live about a block away from a grocery store and it would walk with us to the start of the parking lot where we'd just tell him stay and he lays down and waits until we come back and walks with us back to the house. People would always be amused seeing this and how much it resembled the behavior of a dog. Probably one of the best cats we've had.
I walk my two cats every morning, neither use a leash.
Trained them to run to the front door if they get scared. I use sounds like snapping or clapping for re-direction or warnings.
They’re even trained to return to the front door when I say “Haus”.
Then a treat when they are good, which is everyday!
that's awesome! my dog is under voice control and is soccially appropriate/reserved around other dogs, so i can walk her without a leash. i've been thinking about trying to train my cat to walk with us (on a leash, as she's skittish outside right now), but haven't had the gumption to do so yet.
Is there any ethical and easy way to keep cats out of my yard?
I live in an suburban single family neighborhood where the houses are close together. (5000sq lots) There are 3 or 4 different solitary cats I see slinking through my yard from time to time. They all seem like outdoor house cats as opposed to feral cats.
I try to hiss at them and scare them off but they come back. Is there a method that will encourage them to avoid my yard?
You have to get a number 2 of a big cat. So at your local zoo ask for tiger dump. This will leave your property untouched, I have done this myself several times.
I have the opposite of your problem, live in a city where there is a huge rat problem, I let my cats go outside, and they poop in my neighbor's garden.
I bought him a motion activated lawn sprinkler, which did work, but he was still angry the cats would come anywhere on his property.
There are also little motion activated cans of pet corrector, too.
There are products that are supposed to deter cats, though I don't know how well they work or whether there are associated risks to other creatures. I remember one that claimed it was based on lion dung, and would make the cats think someone much bigger and scarier already owned the territory...
Vice Media did a video about the impact of the feral cat population on Australian wildlife, and the hunters/trappers that are working to cut down on their population[1]. Some of the imagery can be a little brutal if you're averse to that sort of thing, but I found it to be fairly interesting from a conservation methods perspective. It reminds me a little of the work being done in the American South on trying to keep down wild pig and python populations.
There are similar efforts to reduce wild dog populations in Australia, which Vice has also covered[1].
One thing that stuck with me after watching both videos is that Youtube posts a content warning on the video showing dogs being hunted, but not the feral cat equivalent.
From a conservation perspective, I'm skeptical that hunting dogs and cats with traps and rifles will have much of an impact on Australian wildlife.
The fact that cats hunt have been helpful to me in the past. Twice while I was living in an apartment building all of my neighbors had problems with mice. Once in New York and once in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts before my girlfriend came to live with me, I would see the mice. After she came to live with me with her cats, never saw them again. The same when we moved to NYC. While my neighbors all had rotten issues I never saw one mouse or rat in my apartment the entire 8 years living there.
I used to battle with mice all the time at my little cabin in the woods and then a neighbor moved in with a cat that "hunts" outside my cabin all night. Haven't had a mouse problem in years. I've never seen a dead bird anywhere and the cat never seems to hunt during the day.
My cat doesn't care about wild life at all. She spends a lot of time in the garden and birds even have learned that they can walk near her without any issues.
* The cat studied were were not randomly selected; they were chosen by "local volunteers". There may be confounding variables that explain part of the effect and so turn the observed effects from being statistically significant to not being statistically significant.
* The data on kills was self-reported, allowing bias to creep in.
* All the cats were English-speaking.
* Only 10 un-neutered pet cats were studied. I don't know if being neutered would increase, decrease, or have no effect on the kill rate, but the subject is not discussed.
I also question the conclusion that cats have a significant impact on local fauna.
* The average kill rate for a pet cat was (roughly) less than two animals per week, which doesn't seem very high. I'm left with the feeling that the authors had to resort to killings/area to make the results impressive.
* The authors did not report on the total size of the home ranges of cats compared to total area. So, for example, if the ratio was 1:1000, then so what? If the ratio was 1:20, then house cat might have a significant affect on local fauna.
Finally, I have a question about the presentation of the data: Figure 2b does not indicate that "75% of cats spent 90% of their time in disturbed habitats". The graph indicates that 500+ (out of 875 cats) spent between 95% and 100% of their time in developed habitats. Perhaps the y-axis is mislabeled, but even if it is, the graph does not match what the authors say.
Of course animals like cats will kill more in a given area if they don't stray out. I also don't see very much of a problem with that, given that most densely populated neighbourhoods have a want for large amounts of rodents and birds.
It's amazing how adoptable cats are both to domesticated life and to life in the wild. Is there a way for evolution to work its magic and for species hunted by cats to develop countermeasures?
> "The big concern is where we have an overlap of people and cats with native species that are small and vulnerable," Kays said.
Kind of the key question here. Does your local jurisdiction have native species that live in towns and cities that are vulnerable? Some places are different than others. In some places the typical small city bird may even be an introduced species.
In New Zealand for example yes absolutely. Other places maybe not so much...
It is absolutely wild to me how laissez faire Kiwis are about the right to have their cats roam while at the same time being so militant against other mammals (including dogs!).
You probably don't notice them, all little birds, insects, lizards, hedgehogs (I saw a cat mauling one once, same with lizards and birds),..
Actually, in my city, near woods, there's a small outdoor refuge for "wild cats" as the woman I talked to call them. She was feeding them, so I wonder how wild they are and how much they harm the local ecosystem, on top of all the other pets
I think there's an unhealthy addiction and love for pets. If you like animals, you could let them live normally in their natural habitat, and observe them once in a while. I hope this mentality will change
I live in a city that has a large wild rabbit population. It surprised me when I first moved here. They are very cute and pose no threat to anything besides weeds/grass.
The city also has a large variety of songbirds, which people generally like.
On a low level, I don't mind when I see cats patrolling the block. They're little human friends. They sometimes sit with me on the porch. However, I do think it's a bad practice to have an outdoor cat. I adopted a cat very recently and I will be keeping it indoors (against its wishes). It will have to be content killing virtual prey.
Can confirm, my cat kills all the time. Birds, rabbits, frogs. If something moves in my backyard, it will eventually be killed. In the summer when doors are open she actually drags in dying, bleeding animals from time to time. And under prey drive she's a completely different animal, scary and aggressive AF.
[+] [-] bangonkeyboard|5 years ago|reply
"As an invasive species and superpredator, they do considerable ecological damage. In Australia, hunting by cats helped to drive at least 20 native mammals to extinction, and continues to threaten at least 124 more. Their introduction has caused the extinction of at least 33 endemic species on islands throughout the world. Feral and domestic cats kill billions of birds in the United States every year, where songbird populations continue to decline."
[+] [-] pjc50|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] grawprog|5 years ago|reply
http://www.batcon.org/resources/for-specific-issues/wind-pow...
>Current research suggests that the overwhelming majority of bat fatalities are caused by collisions with turbine blades. There is some evidence to suggest that a phenomenon known as barotrauma may result in a small proportion of bat deaths, as well. Barotrauma involves tissue damage to air-containing structures, such as lungs, caused by rapid or excessive pressure change. Air pressure changes can occur at the edges of moving turbine blades and may help explain some bat fatalities.
>Between 2000 and 2011, an estimated 650,000 to 1.3 million bats have died from collisions with wind turbines in the United States and Canada (Arnett and Baerwald 2013). Additionally, as many as 400,000 estimated fatalities may have occurred in 2012.
>in the U.S. and Canada, at least 24 species of bats have been reported as killed by wind turbines. The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), all migratory tree bats, account for nearly 78% of the kills north of Mexico. The hoary bat accounts for 38% of the fatalities. A new study that looked at hoary bat mortality at wind energy facilities during 2014 revealed that populations of the species may plunge by a staggering 90 percent in the next 50 years if no action is taken.
>At some sites in the Midwest and Eastern U.S., species that are already battered by White-nose Syndrome (WNS), can account for up to 60% of wind-energy fatalities.
Two federally endangered species, the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) and the Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis), also have been killed by turbines.
[+] [-] detaro|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pvaldes|5 years ago|reply
Birds know well that cats are dangerous. The real problem is the habitat loss and pesticides. The first force birds to nest in dangerous suboptimal places, where cats can catch them. The second makes them much more vulnerable to cats.
Windows crashes take its toll also.
[+] [-] jyounker|5 years ago|reply
Think of a giant farm water-pump windmill. Those things were bird blenders. Modern three blade wind turbines are a different beast, but many people have not caught up with the changes in engineering.
[ Also, some of the initial wind farms using the bird blenders (e.g. the Altamont Pass near Livermore, CA) were right on the Pacific Flyway, which is a massive migratory path. ]
[+] [-] tachyonbeam|5 years ago|reply
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution
[+] [-] jfoucher|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BostonFern|5 years ago|reply
Incidentally, here's a critical take of a study on the amount of wildlife cats kill that made headlines in 2013 cited in the article, also by NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2013/02/03/170851048/do-we...
[+] [-] hohloma|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] WorkLobster|5 years ago|reply
In terms of individuals among the cats, I guess about half have tried to stalk and catch the birds, and of those probably about half were effective. But in terms of impact, that seemingly small quarter punched above their weight to be a total menace. Carcasses of the birds and other animals (even rabbits!) would keep showing up until they were stopped with a bell collar. If left to their own devices, I don't have trouble imagining they'd put a huge dent in the local ecosystem.
[+] [-] shepardrtc|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Tade0|5 years ago|reply
It's very different from walking a dog. Ours usually hides in his favourite spot and just sits there for 20 minutes straight, then takes his usual route, sniffing and rubbing his face on places where apparently other cats have been.
The upside is that you only need to do that once every 2-3 days.
Now that we're on quarantine he's been calling out other cats from the balcony. Fortunately on Monday we'll be allowed outside, so he'll get the chance to catch up with his buddies - or actually - their scents.
[+] [-] hanniabu|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bashallah|5 years ago|reply
They’re even trained to return to the front door when I say “Haus”.
Then a treat when they are good, which is everyday!
Cat’s do very well with a solid routine.
[+] [-] clairity|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dkdk8283|5 years ago|reply
I would suggest you should go outside anyway.
[+] [-] jld|5 years ago|reply
I live in an suburban single family neighborhood where the houses are close together. (5000sq lots) There are 3 or 4 different solitary cats I see slinking through my yard from time to time. They all seem like outdoor house cats as opposed to feral cats.
I try to hiss at them and scare them off but they come back. Is there a method that will encourage them to avoid my yard?
[+] [-] lowdose|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thomk|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] theli0nheart|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] droopyEyelids|5 years ago|reply
I bought him a motion activated lawn sprinkler, which did work, but he was still angry the cats would come anywhere on his property.
There are also little motion activated cans of pet corrector, too.
[+] [-] jfk13|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 93po|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pvaldes|5 years ago|reply
Automatic sprinklers with motion sensors work well
[+] [-] xenospn|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bowlich|5 years ago|reply
If cat's get into my traps, they just get dumped at the pound. Their owners can go pick up their little invasive darlings there.
But they usually don't get near my yard due to the hounds guarding the chickens.
[+] [-] missedthecue|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mindslight|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] qchris|5 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b93IBwJ_Yow
[+] [-] BostonFern|5 years ago|reply
One thing that stuck with me after watching both videos is that Youtube posts a content warning on the video showing dogs being hunted, but not the feral cat equivalent.
From a conservation perspective, I'm skeptical that hunting dogs and cats with traps and rifles will have much of an impact on Australian wildlife.
[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mioD47T8-YM
[+] [-] loso|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] candyman|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] e40|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kenned3|5 years ago|reply
Seems like utter crap, and it is clear the cats are killing the local birds.
[+] [-] chiefalchemist|5 years ago|reply
The End of Cats: An Interview With the New Zealand Economist Calling to Eliminate All Kitties
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/the-end...
[+] [-] Jazgot|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vgivanovic|5 years ago|reply
The cited study (https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12563; sci-hub.tw has a copy) has some methodological flaws:
* The cat studied were were not randomly selected; they were chosen by "local volunteers". There may be confounding variables that explain part of the effect and so turn the observed effects from being statistically significant to not being statistically significant. * The data on kills was self-reported, allowing bias to creep in. * All the cats were English-speaking. * Only 10 un-neutered pet cats were studied. I don't know if being neutered would increase, decrease, or have no effect on the kill rate, but the subject is not discussed.
I also question the conclusion that cats have a significant impact on local fauna.
* The average kill rate for a pet cat was (roughly) less than two animals per week, which doesn't seem very high. I'm left with the feeling that the authors had to resort to killings/area to make the results impressive. * The authors did not report on the total size of the home ranges of cats compared to total area. So, for example, if the ratio was 1:1000, then so what? If the ratio was 1:20, then house cat might have a significant affect on local fauna.
Finally, I have a question about the presentation of the data: Figure 2b does not indicate that "75% of cats spent 90% of their time in disturbed habitats". The graph indicates that 500+ (out of 875 cats) spent between 95% and 100% of their time in developed habitats. Perhaps the y-axis is mislabeled, but even if it is, the graph does not match what the authors say.
[+] [-] dghughes|5 years ago|reply
For mammals some mice, rabbit and squirrel species are invasive species too.
Invasive cats killing invasive animals. It seems cats like small birds and mammals that tend to be invasive.
[+] [-] jeroenhd|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vlan0|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kyleblarson|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Leary|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Tiktaalik|5 years ago|reply
Kind of the key question here. Does your local jurisdiction have native species that live in towns and cities that are vulnerable? Some places are different than others. In some places the typical small city bird may even be an introduced species.
In New Zealand for example yes absolutely. Other places maybe not so much...
It is absolutely wild to me how laissez faire Kiwis are about the right to have their cats roam while at the same time being so militant against other mammals (including dogs!).
[+] [-] 11235813213455|5 years ago|reply
You probably don't notice them, all little birds, insects, lizards, hedgehogs (I saw a cat mauling one once, same with lizards and birds),..
Actually, in my city, near woods, there's a small outdoor refuge for "wild cats" as the woman I talked to call them. She was feeding them, so I wonder how wild they are and how much they harm the local ecosystem, on top of all the other pets
I think there's an unhealthy addiction and love for pets. If you like animals, you could let them live normally in their natural habitat, and observe them once in a while. I hope this mentality will change
[+] [-] x86_64Ubuntu|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willis936|5 years ago|reply
The city also has a large variety of songbirds, which people generally like.
On a low level, I don't mind when I see cats patrolling the block. They're little human friends. They sometimes sit with me on the porch. However, I do think it's a bad practice to have an outdoor cat. I adopted a cat very recently and I will be keeping it indoors (against its wishes). It will have to be content killing virtual prey.
[+] [-] m0zg|5 years ago|reply