Eliminate free-roaming cats


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Revisions:
    20190709 stub
    20200910 ping
    20231217
    20240529 ping/reform

Ties to:
    🔗toxoplasmosis

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b027a56aafdbf21681458e86afe406a764a7a5a4/0_0_5300_3180/master/5300.jpg?width=1020&dpr=2&s=none




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101/REF/EFFECT— (basics) :)


https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-cats-180960505/
"""
Marra calls Toxoplasma a contaminant on the order of DDT, the broad-scale chemical pesticide used to control insects and combat infectious disease up until the 1960s. (DDT lingers in the environment for years, where it can threaten human and animal health, as Rachel Carson documented in her book Silent Spring.) In fact, Marra thinks of outdoor cats themselves as a DDT-like contaminant—wreaking widespread, unnatural havoc on their surroundings. The difference, to him, is that DDT has never been known to wipe out a species, while cats have been implicated in at least 33 extinctions thus far.
"""


https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-kill-a-staggering-number-of-species-across-the-world/
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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42766-6
A global synthesis and assessment of free-ranging domestic cat diet
"""
Because of this cosmopolitan distribution, cats have disrupted many ecosystems to which they have been introduced3. Specifically, cats spread novel diseases to a range of species including humans4,5, out-compete native felids and other mesopredators6, threaten the genetic integrity of wild felids7, prey on native fauna8, and have driven many species to extinction9,10. As a result, free-ranging cats (i.e., owned or unowned cats with access to the outdoor environment11) are amongst the most problematic invasive species in the world12.
"""
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https://abcbirds.org/news/outdoor-cats-single-greatest-source-of-human-caused-mortality-for-birds-and-mammals-says-new-study/
"""
(Washington, D.C., January 29, 2013) A new peer-reviewed study published today and authored by scientists from two of the world's leading science and wildlife organizations – the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) – has found that bird and mammal mortality caused by outdoor cats is much higher than has been widely reported, with annual bird mortality now estimated to be 1.3 to 4.0 billion and mammal mortality likely 6.3 to 22.3 billion individuals.
[...]
The study charges that, “Despite these harmful effects, policies for management of free-ranging cat populations and regulation of pet ownership behaviors are dictated by animal welfare issues rather than ecological impacts. Projects to manage free-ranging cats, such as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) colonies, are potentially harmful to wildlife populations, but are implemented across the United States without widespread public knowledge, consideration of scientific evidence, or the environmental review processes typically required for actions with harmful environmental consequences.”
"""




EFFECT— Decimating wildlife, especially birds, especially on islands

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/12/cats-diet-2000-species-conservation-study-aoe

"""mathematical models to analyze data from local cat predation studies going back more than 50 years. When they extrapolated the data to reflect national trends, they were stunned. According to their calculations, outdoor cats killed somewhere in the ballpark of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals in the U.S. per year—far exceeding any other human-influenced cause of avian death, such as pesticides or collisions with windows.
"""


    POLEMICS— You thought wind energy was bad for birds?
(I've heard this argument by a "bird-lover" who was also a cat-lover, biggest self-own ever).

https://abcbirds.org/blog21/wind-turbine-mortality
"Taking this change into account, it can be projected that approximately 681,000 birds are currently killed by wind turbines in the U.S. each year."

https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/
"In the United States alone, outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year"


    CANARIAS— Feral cats on the island of La Graciosa (Canary islands)

https://www.ipna.csic.es/en/news/2019/06/census-feral-cats-island-la-graciosa





[a!!] EFFECT— Spreading Toxoplasmosis

🔗toxoplasmosis



EFFECT— Also spread other parasites

🔗antipest




[a!!] EFFECT— Consuming resources

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328716866_Environmental_footprint_of_meat_consumption_of_cats_and_dogs

https://www.treehugger.com/pets/cats-dogs-meat-environmental-impact-in-US.html
"Cats, dogs responsible for up to 30% of meat environmental impact in US"
"If American's cats and dogs were their own country, they'd rank 5th in global meat consumption, says new study."
"meat consumption by dogs and cats creates the equivalent of about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year; around the same climate impact as a year's worth of driving from 13.6 million cars."
(not that much)

https://theecologist.org/2019/feb/27/killing-elephants-pet-food-condemned



[a!!] EFFECT— Their fleas will eat you if you get rid of them
(I've heard this used as a collateral against getting rid of cats. Bizarre extortion!)

"""
The commonest reason for someone being eaten alive in their own home is the death of a cat. Fleas live in carpets, hopping on to the resident pet when in need of food. As long as Tiddles remains hale and hearty, human beings are bitten only sporadically. But a few weeks after a feline departure, the now-starving fleas start to feast on the grieving owner.
"""



[!!] SOLUTION/GOV/LEGAL— Keep cats inside
(Case of a German town)

https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-cat-lockdown-that-divided-a-german-town



[w!!**] SOLUTION!/GOV/LEGAL— Cull feral cats

What's the legislation about this?
Are feral cats "legal"?
Who's responsible for their care?

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[!!**] Check for Slovenia, Spain, etc

UPDATE: 20240529 waiting for answer
https://www.gov.si/drzavni-organi/organi-v-sestavi/uprava-za-varno-hrano-veterinarstvo-in-varstvo-rastlin/#content



[a!!*f] 101— Hahaha amazing anticats manifesto <boyboy

Getting Stray Cats High To Stop Them Eating My Pets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5EiqzfiCS8
* murder count
* "sexy cat woman" ?!
* toxoplasmosis



[!!] TNR/SOLUTION/POLICY— Problems of TNR (trap and release)

"""Despite these kinds of successes, many ecologists say flatly that TNR doesn’t work. The problem is that, for TNR to succeed in large populations, at least 75 percent of cats in a colony must be sterilized. That rarely happens. The trouble is that negligent pet owners continue to abandon pet cats, which then join existing colonies; additionally, non-neutered stray cats can wander in."""

Every cat should be registered

"""
For Marra, TNR is a feel-good solution that is no solution at all—a Band-Aid that has done little to stem the flow of cats. By refusing to look at the reality, he says, we are letting our “misplaced compassion” for cats get the better of our reason. That is why he and some other ecologists call for a more draconian approach: widespread removal of feral and stray cats, including euthanasia.
"""



[!] REPORT/EFFECT— (from Slovenia) "Cats eliminated everything - frogs, snakes, local birds, fish"

"""
Nerad se vključujem v take debate, ker kadar napišem naše domače izkušnje, iz mojega doma, se vedno pojavi nekaj pametnjakovičev, ki mi na nestrpne načine javno pišejo, da to kar jaz vidim, ni res, pač pa je res to, kar so mi ravnokar napisali. Dejansko stanje pa je tako, ga. Dolenec: v Mariboru živi vse polno mačk, ki nimajo lastnika. In plenijo vse, kar pač lahko ubijejo. Živijo v primestju in v mestu, in zaidejo tudi v mestne loge, obrobne gozdičke, po vaseh okrog mesta pa je tako ali tako "vse njihovo". Doma imamo precej vodnih površin, polnih rib. Prinesli smo tudi žabe, ker jih ni bilo. In za žabami so prišle tudi kače, v glavnem belouške. Ko so mačke dojele, kaka veselica je okrog naših malih vrtnih ribnikov, so v dveh letih pobile (ne pojedle) VSE žabe, VSE kače, trudijo se loviti ribe, da o pticah raje ne govorim. Ko so v domačem hlevu še gnezdile kmečke lastovke, skoraj ni minilo leto, da mačke nekako ne bi našle načina, kako priti gor po navpični steni in sklatiti gnezdo z mladiči. Kolikokrat sem letal za mačko, ki je mimo mene iz štale prinesla lastovičjega mladiča!!! Sinice, kosi, vrabci, lastovice, ...vse kar se pač da poloviti, gre z mačkami. Res je, da mestne, primestne in kmečke mačke običajno ne pojedo svojega ulova, za razliko od tistih, ki se stalno klatijo zunaj in so lačne. Vendar oboje , kultivirane in podivjane, pobijajo vse kar pač lahko.
"""
https://www.facebook.com/pticeDOPPS/posts/pfbid02vVaxBXKobhCebpjoFeTdrJg7nq943iafVQ8ALuzGvzkJhLTGnCpCQ4MXmieJvJeQl?comment_id=748058527225215



[!!*] REPORT/COUNTER— "Cats contribute to eliminating vermin"

"""
Ko ni bilo mačke pri hiši so vrabci na vrtu uničevali vse kar jim je padlo na pamet. Voluharji pa so spodjedali vse iz druge strani. Tako da stanovanjska mačka pri nas sigurno odpade, je naredila red na vrtu in nas rešila golazni.
"""
https://www.facebook.com/pticeDOPPS/posts/pfbid02vVaxBXKobhCebpjoFeTdrJg7nq943iafVQ8ALuzGvzkJhLTGnCpCQ4MXmieJvJeQl?comment_id=486074510438951



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