Cats are omnipresent in our cities, they most often bring joy to their owners and they are very popular on social networks. But these domesticated felines are also formidable predators which represent a constant threat to birds, which they kill by the tens of millions each year in Canada.
“Among unnatural predators, the cat is the most important predator of birds,” summarizes the director of the Quebec Birds organization, Jean-Sébastien Guénette.
The latter has also just signed a text in the most recent edition of the magazine of the same name in which he invites people to act to reduce the threat posed by these pets, but also by cats that have become strays. The Quebec government also indicates that “the domestic cat is considered an invasive exotic species when it is stray, without an owner and in high abundance in the natural environment. It can then have harmful consequences on wildlife.”
It must be said that cats, which hunt by instinct, are particularly numerous. In Quebec alone, there are at least 2.1 million, according to the most recent official government data. Data available across Canada puts their population at more than 8 million.
Major impact
As many of these felines spend time outdoors, they have plenty of time to chase the small animals they come across. Result: according to data collected by Québec Oiseaux, it is estimated that cats kill between 100 and 350 million birds each year in Canada alone.
These figures come from a study published online in 2013 in the specialized publication Avian Conservation & Ecology, which estimated that “2 to 7% of birds in southern Canada are killed by cats each year”.
“Even at the most conservative estimate, predation by domestic cats is probably the most significant cause of human-related bird mortality in Canada. Many bird species are potentially vulnerable to impacts on their populations at least locally in southern Canada, due to their nesting or feeding on or near ground level, and the habitat choices that support them. lead to human-dominated landscapes where cats are abundant,” the study said.
And since this predation remains, “this issue deserves more scientific attention in Canada,” concluded the study. Jean-Sébastien Guénette is of the same opinion and believes that it would be important to finance initiatives that would make it possible to find ways to tackle this problem of predation of domestic cats. “We come up against the question of financing to reduce risks, including for species at risk,” he laments.
In this context, Mr. Guénette emphasizes that the best solution remains to keep your cat indoors. He also points out that a domestic feline that stays in the house generally lives much longer than an animal that goes outside.
If an owner still wants to send their cat out for a walk, there are ways to reduce the risk of bird killing. In particular, there is a range of Birdsbesafe collars which are multi-colored and which help reduce hunting success. It is also possible to “set up a secure space outside for your cat or walk it with a harness,” specifies Québec Oiseaux.
The idea of hanging a bell around your cat’s neck is not recommended, according to Jean-Sébastien Guénette, who points out that certain studies have shown that such a device is in fact ineffective.
Prevent
Furthermore, to reduce the risk of feline predation near bird feeders, he recommends taking certain precautions. “If you install the feeder near a thicket where it is easy for a cat to hide, you increase the risk for birds,” he says. You can also place spruce or rose branches under the feeders.
In addition to being victims of predation by urban felines, birds in our cities die in large numbers due to collisions against windows. “The number of birds that die each year from window collisions is between 16 and 42 million in Canada, and between 365 and 988 million in the United States. Collisions, while easily preventable, are a leading cause of human-caused mortality among birds,” according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Why do birds fly into windows? Since glass is not a natural material, they do not understand that the reflections of the trees or the sky are not real. Artificial light can also disorient them and encourage collisions. This phenomenon is particularly true in species that migrate at night, guided by the moon and the stars.