HomeScience & InnovationPoland's Research institute lists cats as invasive alien species

Poland’s Research institute lists cats as invasive alien species

The Associated Press reported that Poland’s respected scientific research institute has classified cats as invasive alien species, citing the harm cats cause to birds and other wild animals, but the conclusion immediately caused a fierce backlash from cat lovers.

When Wojciech Solarz, a biologist at the state-run Polish Academy of Sciences, recently entered the cat’s scientific name, Felis catus, into the national database run by the institute, he didn’t realize there would be such a violent backlash.

Wojciech Solarz said it’s okay to have 1,786 invasive alien species established in the database, but the establishment of the 1,787th alien species has caused controversy. Wojciech Solarz suspects that the call for euthanasia of wild cats may have caused a negative public image.

Wojciech Solarz said that there is a growing biological consensus that domestic cats are harmful to biodiversity, because they hunt many birds and small mammals. From this perspective, the criteria for including cats as invasive alien species are 100% valid.

But independent broadcaster TVN TV show Wojciech Solarz confronted a veterinarian who questioned the conclusion that cats were a danger to wildlife.

Dorota Suminska, author of the famous Polish book “Happy Cats,” points out that many factors contribute to the shrinking of biodiversity, including environmental pollution and urban buildings that kill flying birds.

Dorota Suminska stressed whether Wojciech Solarz should also list humans as invasive alien species, because cats should not be unfairly labeled with this big hat. But Wojciech Solarz turns to evidence that cats kill about 140 million birds in Poland each year.

The institute emphasizes that they only recommend that cat owners limit the time their pets are outdoors for too long during the bird breeding season. “I have a dog, but I don’t have a problem with cats,” says Wojciech Solarz.

Mehmet S. Kaya
Mehmet S. Kayahttps://teknonel.com
Mehmet is one of the administrator of Teknonel. As a software developer, he loves to share his knowledge in related topics. He is highly familiar with the editorial process from the inception of an article idea, through the iterative process, publishing, and performance analysis as well as product reviews.

Follow us on Social Media!

12FansLike
15,848FollowersFollow
13FollowersFollow
676SubscribersSubscribe

Related Articles

Scientists found a New Glass With Extreme Toughness

Glass is very attractive as a material, but its brittleness also limits a variety of potential applications. Scientists have recently proposed a new method...

Interesting Discovery: American scientists discovered self-heal metals

When metal structures such as buildings, bridges, or engines develop cracks, they are typically considered irreversible, and over time, these cracks tend to widen....

New Research shows that mosquitoes dislike light colors

Although mosquitoes respond to human breath, sweat, and body temperature, they also have dislikes, such as certain smells. A recent study published in the...

New Research: Half of world’s Great Lakes are shrinking

In extreme climates, frequent droughts and floods have become a major issue, and water resource management is a pressing problem. To make matters worse,...

Explore More Articles

Star Citizen Mining Module Specification List-min

Star Citizen: Mining Module Specification List 3.21

0
Star Citizen can be very complex when it comes to mining. There are lots of tools and options for miners to select and go...
Star Citizen Complete Performance Guide 3.21-min

Star Citizen: Complete Performance Guide (3.21)

0
If you remember the era of Crysis and the question of "but can it run Crysis", now there is a new era of "Can...