Birds and Cats: Innovative Solutions for Finding Common Ground

October 7, 2020 | Click to Watch

A virtual, 1-hour live panel discussion about wildlife interactions between birds and cats organized as a part of Vancouver Bird Week 2020.

About

Bird populations are on a steep decline. Last fall, a study by Rosenberg et al. confirmed a loss of almost 3 billion North American birds since the 1970s. This year, New Mexico has reported a massive die-off of migratory birds in early September. Among many known threats to birds, habitat loss and climate change have the most impact on birds but are challenging to address quickly and with limited resources. At the same time, cat predation is the largest single source of human-caused mortality of birds in North America. Roaming cats are efficient hunters and kill an estimated 105 to 348 million birds and destroy 2 million bird nests per year in Canada alone (Blancher 2013). Not only do cats pose risks to a variety of birds, bats, and small mammals, they are also more likely to get injured or killed by cars, diseases, poisons, toxins, and other wildlife while unsupervised outdoors. 

Millions of birds can be saved from cats and cats protected from risks outdoors by simply changing our attitude towards free-roaming cats and our behaviour to adopt responsible cat ownership practices and outdoor supervision of our feline companions. 

The Stewardship Centre for BC and its partners are working together to address this issue and identify cost-effective and humane ways of reducing cat predation on wildlife, with the goal of ensuring the well-being of both birds and cats.

Event Summary

Presentations from three of the panellists from UBC, BC SPCA and Environment and Climate Change Canada provide viewers with information about Vancouver-based research on birds and cats as well as tips to support the health and well-being of both birds and cats. Discussion points in a moderated “FAQ” session focus on the research outcomes, bird and cat advocacy, available resources, and the future of responsible cat ownership in BC. A secondary question period allows audience members to interact with the panellists.

Webinar Recoridng

Resources

Speakers

Harold is conducting bird counts across Greater Vancouver to identify how the region can better support our feathered friends. Harold brings his joy for birding, painting, Bayesian inference, and outdoor adventure into his research as much as possible, though he has yet to figure out a way of incorporating his enthusiasm for sourdough baking. 

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Jaylen’s current research is centred around urban wildlife behaviour and animal cognition. He is conducting the Vancouver Cat Count research project. Working with an Advisory Committee, under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Gow, the project is monitoring urban cats with trail cameras and estimating the number of outdoor cats in Vancouver.

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Meghann has worked for the BC SPCA for more than a decade in the areas of education, advocacy, research, and policy. Before that, she enjoyed a career as a wildlife rehabilitator, and completed her Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia studying the rehabilitation of black bear cubs. She has a keen interest in improving animal welfare and a fondness for both cats and birds.

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Tanya works as a Partners in Flight British Columbia program manager with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service. She collaborates with partners to conserve migratory birds (and bats). Her work includes finding effective approaches to reducing outdoor roaming cats and the mortality of birds and other wildlife. She is particularly interested in engagement with veterinarians as partners in keeping cats and wildlife safe. Her two rescue cats have given her a lot of perspective on the cat issue.

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Visit out Cats and Birds pages to learn more!

To get involved in Cats and Birds work or request further information, please email us at info@stewardshipcentrebc.ca.