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Should ownership of cats be banned?

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    #62
    SVI40
    Registered Users Posts: 594 ✭✭✭SVI40


    Storm 10 wrote: »
    I would love to know how many birds are killed by Kestrels, Hawks etc

    Raptors kill for food, cats will frequently kill for fun.


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    #63
    weldoninhio
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,311 ✭✭✭✭weldoninhio


    badaj0z wrote: »
    The Biggest Bird Killers
    I found the figures below with simple Google searches. They are both from the UK and from publications that support the lead ban in shooting. Look closely. You will soon note that the figures show that cats kill 270 times as many birds than are killed by lead shot. It is time to look at banning cats.

    https://www.birdguides.com/news/uk-s...public%20alike.


    The decision comes despite the well-known negative impacts of lead poisoning in both humans and wildlife. More than 6,000 tonnes of lead ammunition are fired over the UK countryside every year in areas where birds feed, and are left behind strewn on the ground. Birds often mistake tiny shot pellets for grit or seeds, and ingest them. Up to 100,000 waterbirds in the UK die every year through ingesting poisonous lead shot. Dead and dying birds are usually taken quickly by predators – making their deaths unseen and 'invisible' to shooters and the wider public alike.

    https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...0been%20caught.

    The most recent figures of how many creatures are killed by cats are from the Mammal Society. They estimate that cats in the UK catch up to 100 million prey items over spring and summer, of which 27 million are birds.
    This is the number of prey items which were known to have been caught. We don't know how many more the cats caught, but didn't bring home, or how many escaped but subsequently died.
    The most frequently caught birds, according to the Mammal Society, are probably:
    • house sparrows
    • blue tits
    • blackbirds
    • starlings
    badaj0z is offline Report Post

    Lets go one further. Should birds be banned as they kill insects??


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    #64
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    i think this thread could be doing with a sticky so people stop making the mistake of confusing 'pets' with 'wildlife'.


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    #65
    weldoninhio
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,311 ✭✭✭✭weldoninhio


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    i think this thread could be doing with a sticky so people stop making the mistake of confusing 'pets' with 'wildlife'.

    The forum is Nature and Bird Watching. Not Pets and Bird Watching. Insects are just as part of nature as any other animals.


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    #66
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    true, but that does not address the point i was making.


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    #67
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,478 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Cats provide essential control of rodents. On our farm for example they are a great natural way of keeping mice and rats under control.

    Cities and towns would quickly be overrun with rodents without the multitude of cats roaming about cleaning up.


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    #68
    partyguinness
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭partyguinness


    Banning cat ownership will not stop cats attacking wildlife. In fact it may well lead to more hungry strays and more attacks.


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    #69
    Kaybaykwah
    Registered Users Posts: 3,087 ✭✭✭Kaybaykwah


    unkel wrote: »
    Number of birds killed per year globally by wind turbines: 40,000
    Number of birds killed per year globally by domestic cats: 4,000,000,000

    No typo. Four billion. For every single bird killed by a wind turbine, cats kill one hundred thousand of them

    I haven't heard about birds being driven into extinction because of cats though. I guess cats kill the most vulnerable birds. Survival of the fittest. So no, I do not feel we should ban domestic cats.


    How many wind turbines are there in proportion to the cat population worldwide, though?

    Shouldn't we ban humans altogether, since we are the overwhelming cause of death to the.many species that have evaporated in the past?


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    #70
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    partyguinness wrote: »
    Banning cat ownership will not stop cats attacking wildlife
    i don't think anyone is seriously expecting cat ownership to be banned, though.


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    #71
    Scoundrel
    Registered Users Posts: 1,435 ✭✭✭Scoundrel


    Anything that can fly and is stupid enough to be killed by an animal that can't deserves what they get


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    #72
    Grolschevik
    Registered Users Posts: 3,472 ✭✭✭Grolschevik


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    i think this thread could be doing with a sticky so people stop making the mistake of confusing 'pets' with 'wildlife'.

    It could probably do with being stickied. And merged with this one from only a couple of months back...

    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058099434


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    #73
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    Scoundrel wrote: »
    Anything that can fly and is stupid enough to be killed by an animal that can't deserves what they get
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuvEJ-U1UDc


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    #74
    Storm 10
    Registered Users Posts: 5,875 ✭✭✭Storm 10


    I showed this post to our cat he was shocked so he said a few prayers


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    #75
    Trouser Snake
    Closed Accounts Posts: 348 ✭✭Trouser Snake


    Miserable looking poor fellow. Not his normal habitat.


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    #76
    cd07
    Registered Users Posts: 466 ✭✭cd07


    Someone mentioned magpies earlier. Magpies are not a native Irish bird they arrived here late in 17th century. As much as I despise cats it seems they outdate the magpies here!


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    #77
    JustAThought
    Registered Users Posts: 5,323 ✭✭✭JustAThought


    Wesser wrote: »
    Put a bell on your cat and neuter them

    The cat that seems to own me at the moment brings back from time to time half dead rats, (thanks cat) , baby mice/rats and an occasional sparrow. I have quite the graveyard going in my garden. It is well fed by multiple families in the road - apparently dead bird/rat gifts are a sign of love. I’d prefer chocolates or some wine rolled down from spar.

    The Australian Govt a few years back were talking about bringing in a major cull of feral and (running) wild cats. I’m not sure how they did it but a friend who lives in Sydney was up in arms about it as they have a much loved cat. The Auzzies now have a major issue with species extinction after the bushfires and it will be interesting so see when this raises its head again.

    New Zealands native wildlife on one of the islands comprised a lot of non- flying birds. When the missionaries (!) came from the UK they brought cats on their boats and they wiped out a lot of the indigenous wildlife species - by preying on the parents and feeding off the eggs. N Z have whole areas where cats running wild are culled and in some areas have a protectionist policy against cats - pets no not.

    +1 for the bells on cat collars. It’s a simple enough thing to do and many of our birds are struggling to maintain nests with so few trees in the city and our govt. policy of smashing hedgerows and habitats to bits at any excuse and predator species being let run wild across gardens.
    Give the birds a chance.


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    #78
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    cd07 wrote: »
    Someone mentioned magpies earlier. Magpies are not a native Irish bird they arrived here late in 17th century. As much as I despise cats it seems they outdate the magpies here!
    Whether or not an animal is native is not due to when it arrived, it's how it arrived. Cats were introduced. If an animal gets under here under its own steam and is able to successfully breed here, it'd be considered native.


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    #79
    Stihl waters
    Registered Users Posts: 715 ✭✭✭Stihl waters


    JustAThought wrote: »

    +1 for the bells on cat collars. It’s a simple enough thing to do and many of our birds are struggling to maintain nests with so few trees in the city and our govt. policy of smashing hedgerows and habitats to bits at any excuse and predator species being let run wild across gardens.
    Give the birds a chance.

    The hedgerows have to be maintained on the sides of the road and junctions for safety reasons, the main culprits are landowners poisoning and cutting everything back for no reason, farmers should be made fence out from hedges and areas identified as being an area of wildlife cover or designate areas for conservation.
    I'm aware certain areas are set aside in some areas tied in with payments but in my experience few farmers take it seriously and only wait for the payment to land in the account, enforcement is non existent, there would be plenty habitat if landowners and farmers didn't flatten everything to make grassland and turn cover into pristine lawns devoid of character and life.(not all farmers obviously in case the perpetually offended among them get the knickers in a twist)


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    #80
    Funsterdelux
    Registered Users Posts: 3,376 ✭✭✭Funsterdelux


    Ban my lil kitties?

    But theyre so cute.

    MV5BM2JhMGE4ODYtYWFmMi00NmFhLTljMjAtOGJkNTA5ZTMzOTYzXkEyXkFqcGdeQWFybm8@._V1_CR11,0,843,474_AL_UY268_CR6,0,477,268_AL_.jpg


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    #81
    Scotty #
    Registered Users Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭Scotty #


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XtkUyKvcMc
    JustAThought wrote: »
    +1 for the bells on cat collars. It’s a simple enough thing to do...
    Bells don't stop cats killing birds. Cats hunt by stealth - being as quiet and still as possible as it sneaks up within striking distance. If the bell makes any noise at all, it won't be until the last second when it's usually too late.


    Not in a million years are cats going to be banned as pets. The only solution to the problem is holding pet owners financially responsible for the destruction to wildlife.4


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    #82
    garrettod
    Registered Users Posts: 2,420 ✭✭✭garrettod


    Cat licences might be a step in the right direction, along with micro chips, just like with dogs.

    Help control their numbers, encourage responsible ownership etc

    Thanks,

    G.



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    #83
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,398 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    do people get dog licences? i.e. is that actually policed in any way at all?


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    #84
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Kaybaykwah wrote: »
    Shouldn't we ban humans altogether, since we are the overwhelming cause of death to the.many species that have evaporated in the past?

    Good point.
    Let's compare the cat killer stats with the number of creatures killed by humans every year, (including other humans).
    Our species are a far bigger threat to wildlife than domestic cats.


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    #85
    OpenYourEyes
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,068 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Good point.
    Let's compare the cat killer stats with the number of creatures killed by humans every year, (including other humans).
    Our species are a far bigger threat to wildlife than domestic cats.

    It's not a good point.

    One of the many subheadings under "creatures killed by humans" would be "creatures killed by animals that humans introduced to places they shouldn't be", and cats would be one of those animals! It's not that humans are worse than cats, it's that the whole cat thing is one of the problems humans have caused that we've made little attempt to rectify.


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    #86
    Xtrail14
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 253 ✭✭Xtrail14


    Cat owners should keep cats out of their bedrooms. Some things cats shouldn’t see.


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    #87
    kildare lad
    Registered Users Posts: 2,010 ✭✭✭kildare lad


    I don't like cats but I don't think they should be banned. I'd like to see tougher laws brought in for them . Compulsory neutering , chipping is a must . If you can't keep your cat indoors at least catproof your garden so they can't get over walls. Feral cats should be put down , cats lovers say that's cruel but what about the hundreds of animals ferals will kill in their lifetime , is that not cruel ?? TNR doesn't work it's only to massage the egos of all these cat lovers while the cats are released back to kill for another few years.

    There's a serious lack of responsibile cat owners worldwide . They think that just because they've a cat it gives them the right to let it roam around all day and come and go as it please , crapping and pissing in people's gardens .They're the most destructive animal on this planet after humans .

    I've had countless rows with irresponsible cat owners on wildlife groups. They use the usual excuses about letting cats roam , ie its in their nature, it's cruel to keep them indoors , humans kill more , turbines , its only nature if they kill a bird, my snuggles has never killed anything etc and these are from people who claim to love wildlife. Head in sand comes to mind . I had an argument with a woman who had 5 outdoor cats and she can live with them killing the odd bird but they're the only ones she knows about . Then a week later she's screaming blue murder about 20 buzzards that have been killing recently. You couldn't make it up .


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    #88
    Del.Monte
    Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    PsychoPete wrote: »
    My cat spends most of her day sitting under the bird feeders watching them, 99% of the time the birds are too clever for her except the odd time she manages to catch one but it's mostly mice she kills. Since I got her I haven't seen a rat near the place which is good


    So, you spend all day monitoring your feeders? If not, how do you know how many birds your cat is catching. You would be better off getting rid of the feeders or the cat.

    ****



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    #89
    THE_SHEEP
    Registered Users Posts: 230 ✭✭THE_SHEEP


    Ban all cats , except black cats .

    They , ( black cats ) , bring you luck if they cross your path !!

    B.C.L.M ( Black Cats Lives Matter ) .

    ( P.s Down on both knees , both paws in the air , Meow !! ) .


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    #90
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    OpenYourEyes wrote: »
    It's not a good point.

    One of the many subheadings under "creatures killed by humans" would be "creatures killed by animals that humans introduced to places they shouldn't be", and cats would be one of those animals! It's not that humans are worse than cats, it's that the whole cat thing is one of the problems humans have caused that we've made little attempt to rectify.


    A human suggesting that a certain species should be banned because it causes damage to other species, while humans are responsible for far far more damage is extreme hypocrisy.


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    #91
    OpenYourEyes
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,068 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Deleted User wrote: »
    A human suggesting that a certain species should be banned because it causes damage to other species, while humans are responsible for far far more damage is extreme hypocrisy.



    I never said they should be banned!

    Also they were introduced by our predecessors, not by 'us', so it wouldn't be hypocritical for anyone in 2020 to suggest measures to reduce their impact. Same reason it's not hypocritical fore to say we should correct loads of the environmental damage done in thedays, weeks, years, decades and century before now

    And my approach is that we should learn from and try to correct our mistakes. You seem to have done sort of anarchist viewpoint of perpetuating the damage being done? We shouldn't apologise, we shouldn't take steps to minimise the impact over time, the literal cat is out of the metaphorical bag and we should just leave it be?


This discussion has been closed.
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