Cats are killing India’s birds. Are we paying attention?

On the basis of 30 million observations by more than 30,000 birdwatchers, the ‘State of Indian Birds 2023’ exercise recently concluded that birds in India are faring poorly. While free-ranging dogs also harm wildlife, Dr. Kaushik said cats have retained the instinct to hunt through many years of domestication, even if they don’t need the skill anymore. Cats also can do something dogs can’t: “They can climb, so they can reach habitats such as the nests of canopy-dwellers.” Cat saliva is also more likely to contain bacteria that are lethal to birds. “Neutering is definitely needed, but this alone doesn’t help,” Ms. Krishnagopal said, “because free-ranging cats hunt every day, and birds take several weeks to raise a family, so it really takes a toll.” Data on cat-killed birds Former director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre, Peter Marra, has critiqued policies such as TNR as being “dictated by animal welfare issues rather than ecological impacts”. With the State of Indian Birds 2023’s unambiguous conclusion that India’s bird diversity is in peril, ecologists like Dr. Kaushik have called for more attempts to quantify the risks posed by various threats, including cats.