WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . CATS

                                                  

  ANTI-FELINE FENCING WOULD NOT SAFEGUARD THE NIGHTINGALES OF KENT

THE RSPB has given short shrift to any notion that installation of 'predator-proof' fencing  could  safeguard sites of breeding nightingales from the threat of cats - especially in areas  close to human habitation.

In last year's planning debate on whether housing should be permitted  at a nightingale- sensitive at Lodge Hill in Kent, agents for the developers suggested that such fencing would provide effective mitigation.

They cited cases in the Australian  outback where such a measure had been effective in preventing foxes, feral cats and rabbits from encroaching on to ecologically-delicate sites.

But the proposition  that such an initiative would work for the nightingales of Lodge Hill  was soundly rejected by RSPB conservation officer Sophie Flax whose work on the case might well provide a useful template for resisting any similar developments that are proposed elsewhere.

In her report to the planning department at Medway Council, she noted that the sites in Australia (and New Zealand) could not be compared with that in Kent because they were far away from human settlements (with all the risks they pose to songbirds).

She continued: "Fences will be ineffective if they are cut, reduced in height or damaged by climbing children, if gaps are opened between sections or if branches, planks or other materials are placed against them.

"Research shows conclusively that cats will take advantage of any weakness in the fence  to climb through or over it, and  they would also be quick to take advantage of other materials against the fence that allowed them to climb or jump over.
 
"Every time a breach occurs, it offers an opportunity for a cat to access the Site of Scientific Interest, and, even if the fence is regularly inspected and repaired, a daytime breach could mean nocturnal access by a cat  before a repair can be effected."

She added: "The success of a fence in excluding cats depends in part on effective maintenance over its lifetime, and any cats that find their way into the wood may have difficulty getting back and could build a feral population."

Thanks partly to the resistance shown by the RSPB, the planning application has been withdrawn, but there remains a risk that another will be submitted - especially if Medway Council earmarks the site for housing in its new Local Plan which is due to be published later this year.

See also: Reprieve for nightingales
http://thewryneck.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/reprieve-for-lodge-hill-nightingales.html