A revered Polish scientific institute has categorized home cats as an “invasive alien species,” citing the harm they trigger to birds and different wildlife.
Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month’s choice and put the important thing scientist behind it on the defensive.
Wojciech Solarz, a biologist on the state-run Polish Academy of Sciences, wasn’t ready for the disapproving public response when he entered “Felis catus,” the scientific identify for the widespread home cat, right into a nationwide database run by the academy’s Institute of Nature Conservation.
The database already had 1,786 different species listed with no objections, Solarz instructed The Associated Press on Tuesday. The uproar over invasive alien species No. 1,787, he stated, might have resulted from some media stories that created the misunderstanding his institute was calling for feral and different cats to be euthanized.
Solarz described the rising scientific consensus that home cats have a dangerous influence on biodiversity given the variety of birds and mammals they hunt and kill.
The standards for together with the cat amongst alien invasive species, “are 100% met by the cat,” he stated.
In a tv phase aired by unbiased broadcaster TVN, the biologist confronted off final week towards a veterinarian who challenged Solarz’s conclusion on the hazards cats pose to wildlife.
Dorota Suminska, the writer of a e book titled “The Happy Cat,” pointed to different causes of shrinking biodiversity, together with a polluted setting and concrete constructing facades that may kill birds in flight.
“Ask if man is on the list of non-invasive alien species,” Suminska stated, arguing that cats had been unfairly assigned an excessive amount of blame.
Solarz pushed again, arguing that cats kill about 140 million birds in Poland every year.
Earlier this month, the Polish Academy institute revealed a put up on its web site citing the “controversy” and searching for to make clear its place. The institute harassed that it was “opposed to any cruelty towards animals.” It additionally argued that its classification was in step with European Union tips.
As far as categorizing cats as “alien,” the institute famous that “Felis catus” was domesticated in all probability round 10,000 years in the past within the cradle of the nice civilizations of the traditional Middle East, making the species alien to Europe from a strictly scientific perspective.
The institute additionally harassed that every one it was recommending was for cat homeowners to restrict the time their pets spend open air throughout fowl breeding season.
“I have a dog, but I don’t have anything against cats,” Solarz stated.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”