In other news: A moral panic over cats. Severe pet discrimination in rental housing. Once again, a somber and tragic anniversary quietly came and went. Another somber and tragic anniversary also came and went without a word, and animals will continue to die. Voters reject a constitutional “right” to kill animals. Why did the alligator cross the road?
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
A moral panic over cats
New and recent studies across the world, including in the U.S., demonstrate that human activities, not cats, are responsible for wildlife declines. They also demonstrate that while public debate has disproportionately emphasized cats as a “conservation threat,” that debate is misinformed. In addition to falsely blaming cats, it overlooks more common and preventable human causes of wildlife injury, including hazardous infrastructure, roads, entangling materials, and habitat fragmentation.
Thankfully, there is a growing scientific consensus across the globe that cats are not to blame for species decline and that the call to eliminate them is “wrong and fuels an unwarranted moral panic over cats.” In fact, that consensus is increasingly rejecting the claim that we should “judge species on their origins,” calling “the practical value of the native-versus-alien species dichotomy” unworkable and counterproductive.
The No Kill Advocacy Center is asking people to help educate policymakers and urge them to adopt win-win solutions like community cat sterilization.
Severe pet discrimination in rental housing
