[FC Blog Note: A Letter to the Editor sent in response to the LA Times article posted here under January 5]
Re: Bye-bye, poor birdies: Killer cats taking a toll, January 4, 2004
Dear Editor:
I write on behalf of homeless feral and stray cats who will be adversely affected by the article, "Bye-bye, poor birdies: Killer cats taking a toll," These cats, who are the result of both the public's failure to spay/neuter and cat abandonment, have been erroneously blamed for the decline of birds and other wildlife.
Declining wildlife populations result from habitat loss and fragmentation caused by development and other human activities, not cats. Wildlife biologist Roger Tabor is quoted as saying, "The clear leading animal that's really putting wildlife at risk is the human population. We just don't like to acknowledge that it is our fault. It's not a case of the cat being the worst offender. It isn't even remotely the worst offender. It's us." [See Monroe, E. 2003. "Living in the Gray Zone."]
Moreover, the often quoted "Wisconsin Study" is not based on legitimate research. The authors themselves identify their estimates of cat predation on birds as guesses; and one of the authors indicated that “Those figures were from our proposal. They aren't actual data; that was just our projection to show how bad it might be.” [See Elliott, J. 1994. “The Accused.” The Sonoma County Independent, March 3-16.]
Furthermore, a recent Columbia University study found that "reducing cats effect on the ecosystem may actually have a negative impact upon some native species due to the possibility of 'mesopredator release effect.'" [See LaBruna, D Columbia University, 2001. "Introduced Species Summary Project: Domestic Cat."]
Humans ought to modify their own behavior before laying blame on other species.
Sincerely,
Shell Sullivan, Founder
The Animal Spirit
www.theanimalspirit.com


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