BBC Cat Report

[Martin]

This is how the BBC are reporting cat life in the UK:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1170000/1170079.stm

[Pam]

Interesting article Martin. Hopefully it doesn't give anyone any ideas, though, about taking the overpopulation problem into their own hands. Cats suffer a lot at the hands of sick people as it is. I liked the lighthearted caption at the end of the article under Socks' picture. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

[Martin]

.... and here's another BBC cat article...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/features/2001/02/09/bumble_cat/bumble_the_cat.shtml

[4 feline house]

It's nice to know it's not just the reporters here in American who have NOTHING BETTER TO DO ("Your underwear may be killing you!"), but as of yet I don't think Channel Five, The Texas News Channel, has followed a cat on its nightly roam! You know, even ten million cats aren't going to put a dent in the gazillions of small animals that roam the British Isles or fly its blue skies, especially since not all cats are even hunters. And I guess the great people of Britain have forgotten the plague. In their misinformed quest to rid the land of the disease, they began killing off the cats, thinking they were the carriers. The plague raged on, of course, because it was the rats carrying it, who were now reproducing prolifically since their main predator was becoming scarce. And, of course, it is unlikely any animals suffer in the jaws of cats - the reason cats "shake" their prey is to stun it. This theory was all but proved by a man who lived through a lion attack, and later stated that he in fact felt no pain or fear because the lion stunned him by shaking him. So I have always taken issue with the "cold-blooded killer" appellation! No, really, I know these articles were written tongue-in-cheek, but it still amazes me in this day and age so many people think of cats as "serial killers" (and I guess we aren't because instead of hunting down our cows, chickens and pigs we house them and feed them until we are ready to eat them?).

PS-I love the "pardon" joke at the end with Socks!

[Troy]

I agree with you "4 feline house". I thought the days were gone when we looked apon successful predators and call them "evil" rather than majestic -y ou won't find anyone calling a Tiger anything but majestic and the only real difference is size.

Most countries like the US, Canada, and Europe (including the UK) have native feline populations which have lived and evolved over the millenia. If the feline prey in these places are becoming rare it is humans that should be blamed for habitat destruction and not our feline friends. The damage we inflict on the environment is far worse than any other species can attain.

I do believe that cats should be restrained in areas that they are not "native" to. Here in Australia I think it is okay to let cats roam free unless they are near national parks or forests because they do pose a serious threat to the native fauna.