• UndercoverUlrikHD@programming.dev
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    8 months ago

    You’ll also need to ban pet cats from walking outside without a leash. Our cats were neutered, didn’t stop them from killing any mice or birds they could get their paws on.

    • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
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      8 months ago

      The reason they need to be spayed and neutered instead of outright killed is because culls don’t really work on animals that reproduce that quickly. Whenever a spot opens up for another cat to make its territory, it gets immediately claimed. There are a ton of research papers that show spaying and neutering is more effective at lowering stray populations, and that euthanization is more costly on top of being less effective.

      • UndercoverUlrikHD@programming.dev
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        8 months ago

        I was talking about the cats that are kept as pets, not stray cats. I guess it varies from country to country, but most cats walking around outside in Norway are pets (~90%). Reducing the stray cat population to zero wouldn’t fix the issue of cats killing all the small wildlife unless pet cats are also kept inside.

        I wasn’t saying anything against neutering cats.

        • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
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          8 months ago

          If the cat never exits the home then idgaf honestly, but if it escapes then it should be eliminated in the most effective way possible. That is my stance, an unattended cat is a stray for all intents and purposes.

          • dragonflyteaparty@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Wow that’s cruel. Someone’s cat gets loose, they can’t find it yet, and you think it should be killed. Good job killing Fluffy because he escaped.

            • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
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              8 months ago

              But letting it slaughter little birds is not cruel, somehow? A manmade pest with no beneficial role to nature is somehow much better to you than functioning ecosystems? If a cat gets out, the owner has made a mistake and will now deal with the consequences.

      • Ann Archy@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I’d say we take this one step further and declaw, spay, neuter, and keep a lot of people on a leash.