The Phantom Menace Of Free-Ranging Cats
Science suggests that free-ranging cats may suppress wild animal populations, but they become a scapegoat when there are multiple factors at play.
SARA STREETER: ‘It’s commonly known by many animal advocates that free-roaming cats are considered to pose a threat to the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as to public health. But what if this common knowledge and conventional wisdom is wrong, and free-ranging cats are neither a public health menace nor an environmental disaster?… Science suggests that free-ranging cats may suppress wild animal populations, but the actual damage to biodiversity needs to be looked at in context. Cats may become a scapegoat when there are multiple factors at play. Habitat loss, proximity to human structures, the introduction of invasive species, and other changes in predator populations or behaviors – they all affect ecosystem structure and balance.
Claims of a menace to public health are overblown as well. The authors suggest that certain researchers misused the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website page “Healthy Pets, Healthy People” to frighten the public about the risks of zoonotic diseases from cats. To be sure, toxoplasmosis and rabies are dangerous, but again, the actual threat needs to be taken in context. Cats are not reservoirs for the rabies virus, but they can serve as vectors, or intermediaries, for wildlife such as raccoons and bats. What’s more, there is ongoing scientific debate about whether cats actually transmit toxoplasmosis or not…
What is missing from the fear-mongering is the common-sense actions that clearly reduce risks. Keeping cats indoors, washing hands after handling cats and proper litterbox management are all integral to limiting the spread of disease. The systematic killing of free-ranging cats is no more likely to control rabies than it was for stray dogs. Rather, efforts should focus on eliminating rabies in raccoons and other wildlife reservoirs, and developing vaccines for zoonotic diseases’. SOURCE…
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