News: May 2003

Professor Stephen Harris of Bristol University and former chairman of the Mammal Society, urges cat owners to keep their pets indoors at night and in the early hours of the morning to reduce predation on small mammals and birds.

The Professor was speaking out in response to a survey carried out by the mammal society on behalf of the BBC which indicated that, second only to rats, cats are the most disliked visitors to in Britain's gardens. The Mammal Society reckons that cats are responsible for around 275 million animal deaths in Britain every year. Although most kills are small mammals, it is also thought that tens of millions of birds are killed each year too.

The Cat's Protection League would also like owners to keep cats indoors at night in order to reduce the estimated 250,000 road fatalities each year.

This is Bristol. 2003. Cats should be locked in. Viewed on the web at http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=104499&command=displayContent&sourceNode=104498&contentPK=5792116 on May 29th 2003.