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Rikard's avatar

Fewer pastures, fields and farms means fewer insects means fewer birds means cats hunting small birds makes a greater impact on the bird population - that's the way it is.

Cats spreading toxoplasma gondii is a fact, too.

Cats being vectors for ticks and therefore tick-borne diseases is a fact. (And rabies, anthrax, and other diseases and parasites.)

That cats massacre smaller animals despite not needing to is a fact.

Solution? Offer free neutering/spaying of domestic cats and ask insurance companies to lower the premium for neutered/spayed cats. This would immediately limit the population. Also, catch and replace or euthanise wild cats. F.e. the city of Malmö in Sweden (pop. 330k) has an estimated population of feral cats numbering above 3 000 in the winter, and 5 000 in the summer. Sadly, these feral cats don't make a dent in the sity's rat population, instead targeting small birds, water salamanders, frogs and such.

Neutering, spaying, and catch-replace/euthanise is far cheaper, more humane and simpler than any other measure.

Look at it like this: would we tolerate semi-wild dogs behaving the way cats do, killing livestock and game animals, defecating wherever and helping to spread parasites and diseases? We wouldn't, not only because dogs would be a more obvious and immediate danger to humans but because it is something that's easy to prevent and put a stop to.

And because it's simply wrong to allow it to exist, according to our cultures. We're not turks, greeks, spaniards, or other southern peoples happy to let feral packs of dogs roam free excepting the occasional half-hearted cull.

Leash-laws for cats, climate whatever re: pets, and vegan dogs are simply to stupid to warrant anything but an unprinatble response. Sadly, I'm not surprised that the most insane and inane "solutions" are being discussed by "experts" - the actual causative patterns and solutions (as mentioned above) are far too simple for them to even consider.

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cm27874's avatar

I'm all for people loving their animals, and treating them appropriately. However, people do stupid and irresponsible things, and animal shelters overflowing due to people having acquired dogs and cats during the pandemic, with no need for them anymore now that the pandemic is over, is a sad issue.

And them cats do consume a lot of meat! I sometimes entertain myself by Fermi-type questions. There are around 15 million cats in Germany. If each cat requires 100 grams of meat every day, using cows as currency for meat and assuming 730 kilograms per cow (a bit too much, but easier for computation), those 15 million cats consume the equivalent of 750,000 cows per year. Just think of all the methane, and the effect on climate... :)

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