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We can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.
People can get crazy defensive about this stuff, and the goal posts almost always move.
First, they usually try to say that it's cruel to keep fluffy inside. (Cats haven't evolved to safely fit in MOST environments, let's be real. There's a whole damned planet out there.)
If you mention environmental concerns, they'll usually suggest of a bell or collar. (Both can be very deadly to a cat if the collar or bell catches on something. Break-away collars mean absolutely nothing if the clasp istelf catches on something, so they also aren't a safety guarantee.)
Usually, that bit is also followed by pointing out that everything is contributing to species becoming extinct.
Sometimes, I seriously wonder if some people are just trying to get out of exercising their cat. I really hope not though, because that's a horrific thought.
The thought of potentially shortening my cats lifespan is heart breaking. I would never willingly do that to a creature who relies on me like that, so I can't understand this. I'm not sure I ever will.
Yes. But we need to stop smoking, not just chew some gum to mask the problem.
Without handling the pesticide/herbicide part of the equation, you're not handling the actual problem. You're treating a symptom.
All of these disorders and problems existed before. Colony collapse disorder existed before. Bats and their white nose fungus have existed for untold millenia. Songbirds had to face housecats for hundreds of years, just in North America.
So why are we seeing a sudden and massive change to all of those things. Cats aren't suddenly more effective hunters because of climate change. Colony collapse disorder has no logical reason to be affected by climate change as weather has been ruled out as a cause of it.
It's not like they're Fire Ants who are migrating northward as winters lessen in severity, or the massive pine beetle epidemic of BC which happened because it stopped getting cold enough to freeze them to death.
For Bats bees, and songbirds, what do they have in common. Bats eats bugs, songbirds eat bugs and seeds. Bugs can be easily found around crops. Seeds are most common around crops. Honeybees pollinate pesticide/herbicide coated crops.
Hell, the biggest and most glaring thing pointing at pest/herb-icides is that barn swallow almost went extinct but tree swallows were fine. Weird how the bug eating, farm dwelling songbird very nearly died off but the forest dwelling cousin is fine.
You realise your barn swallow example is the most widespread swallow in the world and has a conservation status of "least concerning"?
Cats killing wild animals isn't a "symptom", it's a "disease", just like some of the other "diseases" you point out. Right now you're telling us we shouldn't try to treat the "disease" that's the easiest to take care of because there are other "diseases" that are harder to take care of that exist.
They're not suddenly more effective at killing, we just suddenly realize how much of an issue they are.
House cats are very effective predators that aren't native to the vast majority of the world and we are the ones who introduced them everywhere and decided to let them roam free. Time to face our responsibilities.
It also lowers their lifespan and makes them catch diseases that they then transmit to humans.
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
https://onehealth.uoguelph.ca/2022/02/28/outdoor-cats-a-threat-to-more-than-just-birds/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife
https://naturecanada.ca/discover-nature/endangered-species/barn-swallow/
Nature Canada, lists three suspected main causes for the 75% drop in barn swallow numbers.
Funny how two of the three involve pesticides.
That's one type of bird that is globally in the "least concerned" category and that lives in an environment where the concentration of cats per km is very low.
Is the barn swallow and the impact of cats in rural locations really the way you want to go about arguing against scientific studies on the impact of cat populations on wildlife in general? That's the hill you want to die on?
I know it's hard to admit we're wrong but you can also just stop replying so you stop digging your hole.
Barn swallows are listed as at risk in Canada due to a 75% drop in numbers in the last 25 years.
Tree Swallows meanwhile are at least concern.
If you're going to try and admonish me about something, at least try to be remotely right about it please.
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/barn-swallow-hirundo-rustica/
Tell me again how I'm not remotely right about it, please!
We're talking about a global issue and you're trying to move the discussion to talk about one species of birds in one country and that, again, doesn't live where cats are found in high density.
You're wrong, cats are an issue, get over it.
Barn shallows are one of the most populous birds on the planet. When did they nearly go extinct??
Canada is the only country that has actually tracked their numbers in detail and has a recorded 75% loss in the last 25 years.
Everywhere else is estimating a 30% loss, but they can't provide studies backing up that limited loss.
Hard to get international numbers, but in Canada they're listed as "at risk" with a 75% drop in numbers in the last 25 years.
Internationally their numbers are listed as up to 200 million.
Look at their exchange with me, they gave up because they realized it was getting ridiculous but just came back to argue with you a second time to try and have one place where they had the last word.