RSPB insists: "We do take seriously public concern about impact on wildlife by bird-killing cats"

 

Waiting to pounce on an unwary robin or wren - a watchful cat

THE RSPB has issued an assurance that it takes "seriously" the threat posed to birds by Britain's estimated 9.5-million pet cats.

At last year's annual meeting a member claimed the society had traditionally been "dismissive" about concerns and had "downplayed" the threat - possibly for fears it might alienate its cat-owning members.

He said:  "We need to move from misinforming the public to informing them actively about the effect their pets have on birds. 

"There are continued studies showing the devastating effect of domestic cats on birds and other wildlife here and around the world.

"Can we rely on the RSPB to start  making the problem of domestic cats a prominent part of its conservation effort?"

Almost a year after the question, the society has responded.

It says: "The RSPB takes public concern about cat predation seriously and promotes measures to reduce the vulnerability of garden birds to predation by cats. 

"There are a great number of pressures on the UK’s wildlife including climate change and changes to land management, leading to loss of habitat and essential food resources. 

"We believe that encouraging the public to help support wildlife by reducing cat predation is important.

"There are a few ways the RSPB tries to help reduce cat predation in gardens. 

"For example, we try to make it widely known to the public through our website and other communications that fitting bells to quick-release collars and keeping cats in overnight are simple ways to reduce the number of wild birds and other wildlife that they catch.

"We have also researched ways to keep cats out of gardens by using ultrasonic devices like CatWatch. 

"This proved effective in reducing the amount of time cats spent in the garden."

The response continues: "Beyond gardens, cat predation can cause particular problems for vulnerable and restricted populations of birds, in particular birds that nest low to or on the ground such as Dartford Warblers and Nightingales. 

"It can also be an issue for birds that have evolved on islands where terrestrial predators would not naturally occur. 

"We undertake a lot of work to try to reduce these threats, including advising that new residential developments are not built too close to important sites for ground-nesting birds and reducing feral cat populations on islands where they do not belong."

The Wryneck says:  As is its tendency on matters controversial, the RSPB is 'pussyfooting' around the issue with this tepid and unconvincing response. In The Orkneys, the society  has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on combatting stoats, but, unless prompted by a member,  it mostly turns a blind eye to the menace of cats whose bird-killing activities are far more widespread. Obviously, the RSPB  cannot cull pet moggies in the way it culls stoats. Nor would anyone wish it to do so. But it could be much, much more proactive in discouraging feline devastation of our precious birds. After all, is that not what a bird protection society is supposed to do?