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Cats kill billions of birds each year

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A recent study in the US has found that cats kill up to 3.7 billion birds and as many as 20.7 billion mice each year.

On average cats that have outdoors access kill between 30 and 47 birds each year and between 177 and 299 small animals.

The study found that cats are the major cause of death for birds in the United States. A team at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington undertook the study.

This study comes after New Zealand economist Gareth Morgan called for control of cats in New Zealand. He wants to eradicate unregistered cats to save New Zealand’s native birdlife.

Morgan, is a successful businessman and last week he launched a campaign called ‘Cats to Go’ where he suggests that owners should not replace their pet cat when it dies.


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27 Responses

  1. wow i find this very sad seeing I hear birds chirp every morning and my cats bring in dead birds that are already dead so I suspected they just died with no harm but because of this article i now believe that they were killed by cats

    Tom:)

  2. Its sad that the cats are killing so many birds, maybe the cats should have to wear a collar with a bell so that the birds hear them coming and fly away before the cats catch them .

    Luke:)

  3. i dont think cats should die but what happens if they kill all of our native birds im on the fence on this one they sort of both dont deserve to die
    storm;)

  4. i dont know what i think about this article. i dont have much felling for cats but my friend has one and i dont think it wo.uld be fair to take them away when other animals kill too, even if its a smaller amount.
    Max:)

  5. well, this is horrible. I mean, who would want to kill the cats? Technically, its both hypocritism and an eye for a eye. I understand that they’re killing our native birds, but most of the birds my cats bring in aren’t native, and, wouldn’t it cause a blow to the food chain? AGH! I really don’t know! All I know is that neither deserve to die!
    Caitlyn :0)

  6. i think this is very sad and that birds should have a massive area that is predator free and a massive cage so the cats cannot get in. But so the birds can fly out if they choose to!

  7. I have a cat and I love her because she grew out of killing birds, but I still fell sorry for the poor birds and other small animals.

  8. I have a cat and I love her because she grew out of killing birds, but I still fell sorry for the poor birds and other small animals

  9. Thatn is so sad that cats could be so crul. But I guess there is nothing us as ”humans” can do :'(

  10. That is so sad that cats could be so crul. But I guess there is nothing we as “humans can do……..

  11. I think cats should not be banned. just not encouraged. then there will be less cats for the birds but cat lovers can still have there cat

  12. Well, I happen to have 2 cats. The annoying thing about having cats is that some mornings I’ll find a dead bird by the front door. Pepe and Sefa( my cats) also catch mice and leave them anywhere. Last time I went to bed and there was a dead mouse on my pillow…. ewww!!! I think they should be let out but I wish they didn’t kill birds and mice. I think it’s sad… and I also wish Dogs didn’t kill cats. My most recent cat was a beautiful / friendly cat called Buttons. He wouldn’t kill Birds or mice… he wouldn’t even hurt a fly. But one day he went missing….. and a STUPID AND AWFUL dog killed him. I am still sad….

  13. It’s not the cats fault, it’s the way of nature and the food chain. If they stop this birds and small rodents could take over, endangering innocent

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