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brush piles..dont be tidy, a pile of woody debris i
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Say nasty stuff about your opposition. Good going, Fritz. Now =
who=E2=80=99s doing the =E2=80=9Csnarky put-down=E2=80=9D?
From: Fritz McEvoy=20
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2016 4:59 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy"
Hi All,
The argument that "barn cats" are needed to keep the rodent =
population under control is a red herring. Almost no one is saying we =
should get rid of "barn cats". In fact the "barn cat" population has =
declined drastically over the past few decades as the number of family =
farm barns has declined. The real cat predation problem is in cities, =
not rural areas; although it is a problem there too.
The bird predation by cats debate reminds me of the climate change =
debate. Both have virtually all scientific research on one side of the =
argument with the opposition relying on anecdotal evidence, snarky =
put-downs and/or a few scientific studies funded by parties with either =
a financial or ideological bias in their favor to make their case. All =
the best.
Fritz McEvoy
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From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> on =
behalf of rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca <rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca>
Sent: January 24, 2016 4:26 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy"=20
Nick - that's what barn cats are for - keeping populations=20
of rodents and flying rodents under control. Pigeons, starlings=20
sparrows - the English kind are all rodents.=20
The cats help keep a barn clean and do their best=20
work at night when its dark!=20
Imagion telling a farmer to lock up his cats at night - near as bad=20
as the fellow who wanted the farmer to delay cutting his hay for some =
reason!=20
Enjoy the winter=20
Paul=20
On January 24, 2016 at 1:37 PM Nicholas Hill <fernhillns@gmail.com> =
wrote:=20
yes Darrell, they have an impact. My point is that this factor is =
overblown and is not put in context of the many other factors that are =
truly reducing bird populations in the temperate region:=20
climate change=20
land use (e.g. short rotation forestry)=20
pesticides=20
oil?=20
Cats, cars, windturbines, reflective glass would be minor in =
comparison and I'd suggest we first focus on the major causes of decline =
and then look at tempering the minor threats which we are not going to =
fully eliminate as they are part of our life style:=20
1. Cat--keep cat in at night, fix feral cats and get them places=20
2. Car--slow down..I killed a swallow last year when in what I thought =
was a hurry=20
3. Windturbines--research placement of windmills out of flight =
pathways=20
4, Glass--hard to know how to reduce bird impacts on existing windows, =
this national geographic article discusses some ways=20
=
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141113-bird-safe-glass-wi=
ndow-collision-animals-science/=20
Bird-friendly glass could save hundreds of millions
news.nationalgeographic.com
A growing awareness of the threats to bird populations has =
prompted new laws and voluntary guidelines in cities from Toronto to San =
Francisco.=20
We won't get anywhere legislating that cats be not allowed out but =
increasing attention on barn populations and making people responsible =
(or finding funding for) for fixing barn cats on their property, then =
suggesting that owners keep their cats in at dusk and night, will have =
impacts. Currently, this negative focus on cats creates the impression =
that a biodiversity crisis is the fault of cats not their humans who may =
also drive cars profligately and eat crops grown using neonicotinoids.=20
Nick=20
On Sun, Jan 24, 2016 at 11:43 AM, <darrell@abolitphotos.ca> wrote:=20
I disagree Nick, any animal can become a pest and cats and their =
irresponsible owners are exactly that. Myself, living in the countryside =
where cats are brought to barns and dropped off and many owners letting =
them roam free, I have seen many birds killed. Seen one cat jump up on a =
cloths line to kill a saw-whet owl. An impressive predator but way too =
many (all) at loose in the daytime and night. Dog owners are not allowed =
to let their animals/predators roam free and neither should cat owners. =
No pet should be allowed to roam free to kill at will, period.
=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 11:24:43 -0400, Don MacNeill < =
donmacneill@bellaliant.net> wrote:=20
I agree Nick.
Don
Don MacNeill donmacneill@bellaliant.net=20
On 24/01/2016 10:37 AM, Nicholas Hill wrote:=20
Grayson and Calver (2004, Regulation of cat ownership to protect =
urban wildlife: a justification based on the precautionary approach. =
Royal Zoological Society NSW 169-178) found previously that Cat Density =
was not a predictor of passerine numbers but that distance to bushland =
and the density of urban housing were (both negative factors). In the =
study cited above (regulation of cat ownership etc), they conclude that =
"cat welfare is the key issue in a precautionary approach for protection =
which respects interests of cat owners". Cat welfare means keeping the =
beasts in at night and desexing them so that we do not have a feral cat =
problem. In the country here, people let cats breed in outbuildings and =
this leads to a desperate situation for these cats and for wildlife. =20
Other authors warned that conclusions drawn in Britain over the =
impact of cats (million birds and small mammals killed) were drawn from =
data on one single village study in Felmersham. This