Strays kill the sick birds, preventing them from spreading the disease, just as cats killed the rats that harbored the infected fleas.
THAT is a very good point! We would probably get a terrible rat and mice plague when the cats are missing, and once again, nature would get out of balance.

It's such a shame and I really don't understand it: Why the cats? I don't want the birds being killed, either. Well, and obviously other mammals like foxes and martens are also considered to be prone to the virus, as the dead ones here are also tested for H5N1.

Maybe it's just like Jen said: just another reason to destroy stray cats.

Kirsten