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Date: 18 July, 2001
The Worldwatch Institute's "Vital Signs 2001" carries a status report on
threatened bird species (p. 98). The news is not good. Of the approximately
9,900 bird species in the world, 12% are threatened with extinction. The
report, authored by Ashley Mattoon, finds that "possibly one out of eight of
the world's bird species will be lost within the next 100 years. Over the
last 200 years, 103 bird extinctions have already been documented."
The causes behind the decline of the world's birds are clear. Habitat loss
and degradation are the leading dangers. Exploitation either through hunting
for food or collecting for the pet trade is also an obvious danger for birds
in the wild. Human activities - such as destruction of breeding areas, road
kills, collisions with man-made objects such as transmission towers - are
directly responsible for roughly 270 million bird deaths every year in the
U.S. ("Ornithology," Frank B. Gill, Freeman Press). In the United States,
however, a less-recognized dangeris haunting birds, and the danger lurks in
our backyards.
Dwarfing the bird losses directly caused by humans are those attributable to
cats. There are over 40 million domesticated, free-roaming pet cats in the
United States. These cats may kill hundreds of millions of birds each year
(Frank Gill's ornithology text estimates as many as four million songbirds
every day!) and three times as many small mammals. In addition, there are
perhaps 40-60 million stray and feral cats that add to the toll of
cat-killed wildlife. Domestic cats kill not only common species, but also
rare and endangered species, such as Piping Plover, California Clapper Rail,
and Western Snowy Plover, and declining species such as Black-throated Blue
Warbler and Wood Thrush. Preying cats are a problem everywhere, from
backyard bird feeders to lands set aside for wildlife. Populations of
wildlilfe in island-like habitats, such as parks and refuges surrounded by
development, are particularly vulnerable to cat predation.
Animal welfare groups and many veterinarians routinely recommend that cats
be kept indoors. According to the American Bird Conservancy, a non-profit
conservation organization dedicated to conserving wild birds, the life
expectancy of an outdoor cat is 2 to 5 years, while an indoor cat may live
for 17 or more years. Millions of cats annually are hit by cars, injured or
killed by other animals, starve, become lost, stolen, or poisoned.
Free-roaming cats are more likely to contract debilitating, life-threatening
diseases such as rabies, feline leukemia, and distemper. Free-roaming cats
are also the principle cause of cat overpopulation. Millions of cats are
euthanized each year for lack of enough homes.
Help spread the message, a message for the birds, that free-roaming cats
pose a huge problem for America's native wildlife. Keep preying cats
indoors.
Act today on this EcoAlert, and thank you for your environmental responsibility.
American P.I.E.
Public Information on the Environment
124 High Street, P.O. Box 340
South Glastonbury, CT 06073-0340
Telephone: 1-800-320-APIE(2743)
E-Mail: Info@AmericanPIE.org
EcoAlert subscribe/unsubscribe at our web site: http://www.AmericanPIE.org
American PIE
http://www.AmericanPIE.org
Return to American PIE Index on EHN's site
http://ehnca.org/www/ampie/ampieind.htm
EHN pages of possible interest --
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