Regarding your story: Free Roaming Cats Affecting Birds (May 11).
I’ll give CatSpan credit for their spay and neuter program, but Ms. Davies’ comment that there are two kinds of cats: neglected free roaming, and feral, is nonsense.
The biggest problem is well-fed domestic cats with homes, whose owners let them roam through our neighbourhoods with impunity and total disregard for the impact on wildlife.
Her assertion that feeding free-roaming cats cuts down on predation is totally false.
Numerous studies by organizations such as the Audubon Society, National Geographic Society, major universities and others conclude that cats kill by instinct and the most well-fed cat will hunt and kill at every opportunity.
Nature Trust just last year raised the alarm about the effect cats are having on wildlife.
We’ve all seen it in our neighbourhoods. By the way, the number one predator of quail in North America? Domestic cats.
The problem, of course, is cat owners in a state of denial and municipal governments, including Qualicum Beach, that refuse to enforce town bylaws (yes, we have a bylaw that makes it illegal to let your cat roam off your property) or make any attempt at public education.
Now as spring and summer comes on us the slaughter of birds, both adults and young birds just out of the nest, begins, with no consequences for cats or their owners.
Gordon Browne
Qualicum Beach
