WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish scientific institute has categorized home cats as an “invasive alien species,” citing the harm they trigger to birds and different wildlife.
Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month’s resolution and put the important thing scientist behind it on the defensive.
Wojciech Solarz, a biologist on the state-run Polish Academy of Sciences, wasn’t ready for the disapproving public response when he entered “Felis catus,” the scientific identify for the widespread home cat, right into a nationwide database run by the academy’s Institute of Nature Conservation.
The database already had 1,786 different species listed with no objections, Solarz instructed The Related Press on Tuesday. Invasive alien species No. 1,787, nevertheless, is a creature so beloved that it usually is honored in Poland’s cemeteries reserved for cats and canines.
Solarz described the rising scientific consensus that home cats have a dangerous impression on biodiversity given the variety of birds and mammals they hunt and kill.
The standards for together with the cat amongst alien invasive species, “are 100% met by the cat,” he mentioned.
In a tv section aired by impartial broadcaster TVN, the biologist confronted off final week towards a veterinarian who challenged Solarz’s conclusion on the risks cats pose to wildlife.
Dorota Suminska, the creator of a e-book titled “The Pleased Cat,” pointed to different causes of shrinking biodiversity, together with a polluted atmosphere and concrete constructing facades that may kill birds in flight.
“Ask if man is on the checklist of non-invasive alien species,” Suminska mentioned, arguing that cats had been unfairly assigned an excessive amount of blame.
Solarz instructed the AP that some media reviews concerning the itemizing created a misunderstanding that the institute was calling for feral and different cats to be euthanized.
Earlier this month, his institute printed a submit on its web site citing the “controversy” and searching for to make clear its place. The institute confused that it was “against any cruelty in direction of animals.” It additionally argued that its classification was consistent with European Union pointers.
So far as categorizing cats as “alien,” the institute famous that “Felis catus” was domesticated most likely round 10,000 years in the past within the cradle of the good civilizations of the traditional Center East, making the species alien to Europe from a strictly scientific viewpoint.
The institute additionally confused that each one it was recommending was for cat homeowners to restrict the time their pets spend outdoor throughout fowl breeding season.
“I've a canine, however I don’t have something towards cats,” Solarz mentioned.
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