Killing cats to save birds is not a solution

A book just published calls for an all-out war on free-ranging cats, writes Richard Collins

A BOOK just published in the US has put the cat among the pigeons. In Cat Wars, the Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer, Peter Marra and Chris Santella call for an all-out war on free-ranging cats. Dr Marra is director of Washington’s Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre. Santella is a journalist and travel writer.

Cats outnumber dogs by about 20% in America. There are 74m to 96m house cats and about 70m feral ones. Some 34% of homes have a cat. Marra and Santella claim that felines kill 130m to 400m birds each year and spread disease to animals and humans. Britain’s nine million cats kill 55m birds annually.