Feral Cat - Effects On Wildlife

Effects On Wildlife

The impact of domestic cats on wildlife is a century-old debate. In a 1916 report for the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture titled The Domestic Cat: Bird Killer, Mouser and Destroyer of Wildlife, noted ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush stated in the preface:

Questions regarding the value or inutility of the domestic cat, and problems connected with limiting its more or less unwelcome outdoor activities, are causing much dissension. The discussion has reached an acute stage. Medical men, game protectors and bird lovers call on legislators to enact restrictive laws. Then ardent cat lovers rouse themselves for combat. In the excitement of partisanship many loose and ill-considered statements are made.

The report cited Extinct Birds, published in 1905 by zoologist Walter Rothschild, who stated, "man and his satellites, cats, rats, dogs, and pigs are the worst and in fact the only important agents of destruction of the native avifaunas wherever they go." Rothschild gave several examples of cats causing the extermination of some bird species on islands.

Some farmers and gamekeepers see feral cats as vermin. Feral cats catch and eat ground nesting birds such as pheasants and partridge. To protect their birds, some gamekeepers set traps and shoot feral cats as part of pest control..