The Knight Life by Keith Knight for May 23, 2023
May 22, 2023
May 24, 2023
Transcript:
KK I sthat a dead bird? cop: 10 - 4 Who would commit such a heinous act? A feral cat!! COP: a feral cat is a sort of untamed, wild version of the domesticated house cat!! "They roam Americas streets, parks and alleys unchecked , killing millions of birds each year!! The feral cat population continues to benefit form a highly sanitized portrayal of the blood thirsty beasts from the 1960s!! You're blaming Hanna- Barbara? Cop: we call em "hanna Barbaric" down at the station!!
It’s well-known (see RSPB.org.uk) that few cats are both fast and skilled enough to catch and kill healthy adult songbirds.
Those they do catch are the nestlings not in nests (who won’t live to maturity even if there are no cats around), the sick, the injured, and the old.
It’s also well-known that humans are the principal agents of songbird decline via habitat loss and an increase in predators, some of which, e.g. raptors, are now privileged.
It used to be that people who love songbirds would shoot and kill a raptor (or other predator, such as a weasel) found “harvesting” a songbird colony. But now there are many fewer guns, and laws that protect raptors and other predators.