Cats are one of the most beloved pets to humans beings. Though they provided a sense of comfort and love, there is a dark side to these soft, adorable, felines. Cats, both domestic and feral, poses a serious threat to native bird populations in the United States and health risk to both people and other animals. It is important that people realize the impact that feral cats have in the environment that they inhabit and how it not only effects other species, but us humans as well. Feral cats have no form of human interaction and therefore are difficult and or nearly impossible to assimilate as a regular house pet. There appears to be limited options on what can be done to help assist in the reduction of feral cat populations without sparking controversy from cats lovers and animal rights groups.
Unlike dogs, cats retained their predation instincts. It is because of this trait that the concern for the native population of birds has risen. In the United States alone, there are about 95.5 million owned cats, this is excludes feral ones. Cats were introduce to the North American continent in 1498 by the Spaniards; so cats have only been on this continent for about five-hundred years; in retrospect, cats are considered an invasive species. Because cats are an invasive species, other species such as birds and small rodents did not develop and adaptation of instinctual strategies to survive against this new predator; “Feral cat populations have been linked to reduction in bird diversity, extirpation of insular species and toxoplasmosis infections in otters, monk seals, and dozens of species of birds”(Lohr,Linda,Christopher).
According to Smithsonian colleague Scott Loss and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about a billion of birds have ...
... middle of paper ...
...l. 12, No. 1 (1989), pp. 98-103. JSTOR. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Guttilla A.Darcee ,Stapp Paul. “Effects of sterilization on movements of feral cats at a wildlandurban interface” Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 91, No. 2 (2010), pp. 482-489. JSTOR. Web. 23 April. 2014.
LOHR, CHERYL A., LINDA J. COX, and CHRISTOPHER A. LEPCZYK. "Costs and Benefits of Trap-Neuter-Release and Euthanasia for Removal of Urban Cats in Oahu, Hawaii." Conservation Biology. JSTOR. Wiley (2013). Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Loyd, Kerrie Anne, and Craig A. Miller. "Factors Related to Preferences for Trap—Neuter—Release Management of Feral Cats among Illinois Homeowners." The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 74, No. 1 (2010), pp. 160-165 JSTOR. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Yamaguchi, N., D. W. MacDonald, W. C. Passanisi, D. A. Harbour, and C. D. Hopper.Epidemiology and Infection, Vol. 116, No. 2 (Apr., 1996), pp. 217-223
Weeks, P., & Packard, J. (2009). Feral hogs: Invasive species or nature. Human Organization, 68(3), 280-292. Retrieved from http://wk4ky4tk9h.scholar.serialssolutions.com.library.esc.edu/?sid=google&auinit=P&aulast=Weeks&atitle=Feral Hogs: Invasive Species or Nature's Bounty?&title=Human organization&volume=68&issue=3&date=2009&spage=280&issn=0018-7259
The management and control measures both lethal and non-lethal that have been put in place and priorities for future management and research. Their research focuses on a wide variety of factors that contribute to providing a well-informed understanding and providing an overall picture of the impacts that are caused by the feral cat on Australian
According to the article “Pet Statistics” by the ASPCA estimates there are 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats owned in the United States. It is impossible to determine the number of stray dogs and cats, but the ASPCA estimates there are 70 million cats alone that are strays in the US (“Pet Statistics”). The overpopulation of dogs and cats live either on the streets and die each day, they live in a shelter and try to get adopted, but even then they die. The ASPCA states that nationwide about 7.6 million companion animals enter the shelter and of the 7.6 million approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats (“Pet Statistics”).
Research of coyotes occurred in a 194-km2 area of Elk Island National Park (EINP), of Alberta, Canada. 51 coyotes were captured between 15 November-1 April over a period of 9,379 trap nights and 7,421 trap days. Researchers took care in assembling the snares so that any traces of human scent were masked. The traps were then set up along game trails avoiding any exposed or hazardous sites. Every 12-24 hours they were checked to reduce capture time, further reducing stress and injury. Once captured, the coyote was restrained and the immobilizing anesthetic, Telazol, was administered to keep them stationary. The animal was kept warm during the cleaning and stitching of injuries, recording of weight, fitting of eartags and radiocollars, blood collection and injection of antibiotics and an antiparasitic agent.
The lack of awareness programs attributes to animal hoarding greatly. The Robinson Rescue is an organization that “educate[s] pet owners about the importance of spay/neuter as a means of ending pet overpopulation.” ( ). This organization shows children how they should think of animals so that they do not abuse their animals like a case in which the defendants argued “that pets are classified as personal property…” and that they have feelings too (Donaghey 2011) (Gunnarson). Few people realize that 354 animals are eutha...
Emma Marris’ blog, “In Defense of Everglade Pythons,” exhibits that humans have controlled the relationships between the already existing ecosystem within the Florida Everglades, by the latest introduction of pythons, “It’s the blame-the-invasive species narrative…”(Marris). One major method that people have favored unknowingly at times to manipulate nature is introducing a new species to an already working ecosystem. Therefore, people have controlled nature significantly in the U.S. since 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Humans have altered environments and how that new species will develop. They have overpopulated and underpopulated current places and animal inhabitants. And they have even changed environments for
In Australia feral cats cover up about 99.8% of the Great Sandy Desert. The research shows that the total amount of feral cats in the desert is much lower than the previous years of feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert. Agencies are responsible for managing cat populations and would enable better planning for baiting, trapping, shooting or other eradication programs (Legge). A recent researcher announced a plan to kill around two million feral cats in the Great Sandy Desert, and plan on killing more as the years go on and the population of feral cats gets higher. Feral cats are responsible for the extinction of about 20 native Australian species. They are the single biggest threat to our native animals,
Animals are precious, loving, and sweet creatures but many are having their lives cut short. Did you know that 7.6 million animals enter shelters every year? Of those animals, thirty one percent of dogs are euthanized and forty one percent of cats are euthanized. If you do the math, that is 2.4 million dogs and 3.1 million cats. Why are we doing this to our animals? They're living creatures just like us, even if they can't tell us. As you read this paper, you'll learn about what euthanization is, learn the reasons for shelters killing our furry friends, and get an inside look at the terrible practice of euthanization.
Many people don’t spay or neuter their pets, especially cats. There are a lot of benefits and yet according to The Humane Society of the United States, six to eight million cats enter the shelters each year and while three to four million are adopted out, another three to four million are killed. “An unsprayed female cats, her mate and all of their offspring producing just 2 litters per year (the average is 3-4), with just 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total to 66,088 cats in just 6 years” (Goldstein & O’Keefe 4).
Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be euthanized; that equals to one animal being put down every 8 seconds. Animals that are not adopted are kept in shelters until they find a home. Most of these shelters do not have enough space or resources to care for the animal. Only 15% of dogs and 2% of cats that enter animal shelters are reunited with their owners. The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. Twenty-six percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, 20 to 30 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, and 2 to 10 percent are purchased from pet shops. In addition, only 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter animal shelters are euthanized. The 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered, while 78 percent of dogs and 88 percent of cats are not spayed or neutered, in 2009 Statistics from animal shelters in 55 counties in WV (West Virginia) shows that nearly 54% of all animals entering shelters are euthanized, The euthanasia rates ranged from the lowest at 5% to the highe...
"Pet Overpopulation : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane Society of
Today’s domestic house cats sure have changed and traveled far from their old wildcat ancestors across the world. Cats have traveled halfway across the world and now live around the world in various breeds and sizes. Even though they live today in their domesticated form they still retain some of the traits that their ancestors bestowed upon them. The African wildcat is believed to be the ancestor of all domestic cats, and they’re even still alive to this day. Over thousands of years of speciation, domestic house cats came to be from these wildcat ancestors.
"The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program: The Health Benefits of Pets." NIH Consensus Development Program. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
A study shows that even the prey cats use as a food source are still ultimately endangered by a cats hunting habits stating, “Our analyses reveal that models that include adjusted prey species- richness as a predictor of felid- richness outperform those with less precise measures of prey- richness. This is true both when examined collectively and when split into those felids that prey upon large- bodied prey and those that prey upon small- bodied prey. For seven felid species, 33% or more of their primary prey- species are threatened” (Sandom, 667). This means that even if you fed your friendly feline, as soon as you let them outside they will still hunt and kill animals for the fun of it. Cats are invasive species to all areas, as they were brought to America by boat many years ago. Therefore, these birds and other animals are not adapted well enough to deal with a kind of predator like house cats. These same birds and animals are vital to ecosystems, birds, like bees, help in pollinating many different variety of flowers and also aid in spreading seeds. With that in mind birds are a very essential part of the North American ecosystem. Cats; however, are not they are an invasive species killing native
In Japan, there is a remote island where cats outnumber humans five to one. For those who want to experience living on an island where cats rule over humans, the Aoshima Island in the Ehime prefecture in Japan is a cat-lovers paradise. The cats that live in the once thriving village were originally brought to the mile-long island to get rid of mice that pestered the fishermen’s boats, however, as the cats’ number increased to at least 120 and the permanent human residents of the island declined to 15, the cats have sort of become the “rulers” of the small island.