What is the moral status of birds?

According to an op-ed on Splinter (known for “news and opinions that get under your skin”) there are some who believe they take a backseat in our moral consideration for animals.

This op-ed–titled “Let Cats Eat the Birds”–feels like something straight out of Poe’s Law. However, it contains very real arguments worth addressing.

The title of the piece is meant to be sensationalist clickbait, and the argument contained within is misaligned. The author’s argument is that, when it comes to the cats v. birds argument, there are multiple problems with how environmentalists think about it:

1. Cats are only doing what is natural to them (“doing hella nature”, as I believe the author puts it) and their behavior holds no moral weight
2. Any efforts to cull feral cat populations to save bird populations are cruel (why hold one up over the other?)
3. There are far more pressing environmental concerns than cats eating birds–i.e. climate change

These points aren’t necessarily invalid. House cats, through our intervention, have remained predatory, carnivorous animals. Preferential treatment of one animal versus another can be problematic. And, indeed, climate change is one of the most prescient concerns of our modern era.

However, there is a great amount of historical and scientific context missing here.

Domestic Cats Aren’t the Problem (Mostly)

What everyone agrees on is the fact that our major problem is feral cats, not domestic. Estimates of feral cat numbers in the US range up past 60 million. Meanwhile, the majority of the 90 million domestic cats living in American homes today likely don’t go outside.

This massive number of feral cats has a staggering impact on bird populations. In one 2013 study it was concluded that up to 4 billion birds may be killed by outdoor cats every year. Given that the average bird population in the US ranges between 10 and 20 billion, a yearly 20-30% population reduction is troubling.

Apex Predators Out of Control

Cats are major ecosystem disruptors for two reasons:

First cats are apex predators. It’s very easy to forget this, given how, like, cute they are and stuff. And, because they are so ingrained in our culture, we often end up protecting them from natural forces.

Second, they are prolific breeders; they reach sexual maturity in 6 to 9 months, and their pregnancies average a length of 68 days. They can breed throughout their lives. With litters between ranging between 3-6 kittens at a time, a single female can be responsible for as many as 3500 descendants.

An apex predator with very little natural forces or selective pressures managing their populations–what could possibly go wrong?

Predator-prey cycles, that’s what.

Prey populations influence predator populations, and vice versa. As prey animal numbers increase, so do their predators numbers. This becomes a cycle, in which both populations rise and fall in relation to each other. This is one of the many mechanisms in nature that keeps ecosystems in check.

So, when you take an apex predator with rapid reproduction rates and little controlling its population and put it into an already established ecosystem, this can be incredibly devastating.

Cats and Pyramids

No, unfortunately this section doesn’t dive into the history of cats in Egypt. The pyramid in question is the ecological pyramid.

This diagram depicts how biomass/energy (generally) flow upwards in an ecosystem. At the bottom are autotrophs–trees, grasses, algae, etc.–and at the top are apex predators. Each level narrows, illustrating two interrelated points:

1. Biomass is lost as it moves up the ecological pyramid
2. Population sizes decreases at each level

This is simply a function of energy; only 10% of the energy in one level is available to the next. The majority of the energy gets lost as heat or used for metabolic processes. 

Destabilizing Ecosystems

The larger feral cat populations are, the more biomass/energy is required to keep those numbers up. As long as feral cats keep hunting birds, those bird populations will decrease. This is part of the predator-prey cycle, but this is where the cycle ends.

Because cats breed so quickly, their numbers continue to rise. Bird populations are likely to shrink as more cats enter the ecosystem. Eventually, whole species will go extinct at rates faster than their ecosystems can handle, disrupting the environment. This can and will impact us, whether we want to admit it or not.

How? And Why are Birds so Important?

First–as we’re seeing in Olympic National Park–birds can help rebuild entire landscapes and ecosystems. They are one of many species that can help spread seeds around, helping plant diversity grow and providing opportunity for more species to survive in a given area.

Second, they act as indicator species–robins, in particular, prefer early-stage habitats. When scientists want to determine the impact of their rewilding efforts, seeing healthy robin populations is a good sign.

Third, they’re a natural form of pest control, which can help not only protect us but help us economically as well. In Jamaica, coffee farmers have adjusted their farming methods away from netting and pesticides to accommodate warblers. As a result, these farmers have seen increased yields and more profits.

When bird populations disappear due to hunting by feral cats, these important ecological niches and benefits to humans are lost. Entire ecosystems will lose biodiversity, with some species leaving and others going extinct. Pest populations can run rampant. Ecosystems may experience harsher change that can threaten humans. The list could go on and on…

Cruelty We Cannot See

I would argue there’s a further problem here that isn’t so obvious–continuing to let feral cats deplete bird populations is cruel to the cats themselves. To do nothing will be more harmful to cats than organized efforts to control their populations.

Going back to predator-prey cycles, you’ll remember the idea of how population numbers of predators impact population numbers of their prey animals, and vice versa. Eventually, prey populations adapt, shift, or deplete, resulting in a lack of resources for the predators. Once this happens, predator populations will drop. It’s not hard to anticipate feral cat populations starving to death or eating each other (yes, there is such a thing as cannibalism in cats). Such things would continue until their numbers are stable enough for the environment to support. But, by that point, they will have altered the environment so radically that their survivability would be questionable at best.

One could argue this is the way of nature and we ought not to interfere, but we have caused this problem–not nature. We brought house cats to America; we couldn’t bring ourselves to kill them; we’ve avoided managing the number of feral cats nationwide. The harsh reality is that we, through ignorance or unwillingness, have allowed this problem to become exacerbated. The suffering cats and animals throughout ecosystems face if we don’t handle this problem is our responsibility.

Necessary Evils

It’s very hard, when discussing our moral obligations in this particular scenario we find ourselves in, to approach it without emotion. We are bound to our cats, and our cats look at us like we’re crazy. That’s how the game goes. But we’re endeared to them and we take care of them. Reason takes a back seat almost all of the time when it comes to being truthful about our pets.

Because we bond so tightly to our pets, we are more attuned to their suffering. Therefore, when anyone suggests culling feral cat populations, the backlash is often angry and distressed. We can almost feel the pain of the animal’s death. Naturally, as a result, when we think about reducing suffering of animals, our pets are our first priority. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it ends up clouding our judgment.

The reality is: if we want to spare feral cats suffering, we need to manage their population numbers quickly. Trap and release (TNR) is a good start, but we’re going to have to take them out of their current environments. More often than not, unfortunately, this will require a necessary evil: putting them down.

It’s Okay if You’re Mad at Me

I’m sure by now, about half the people reading this are pissed off at me. Hell, I’m mad at myself too. I have a  several adorable cats in my life–most of whom are rescues–and without them, I don’t know how my quality of life would be. It genuinely pains me to imagine them being put down.

Without human intervention, however, my cats would likely be long dead by now. People did the work to ensure these cats got to shelters and good homes, rather than leaving them out in the woods or in a city. Their suffering was mitigated by humans stepping up and taking responsibility. Granted, this can’t be the story of every feral cat right now; in the meantime, we can work to control their populations. Through population control methods, we may hopefully be able to remove cats off the street entirely one day.

Let’s Be Honest

Solving the issue of feral cats and their predation of birds en-masse is not going to be easy; there are so many cats out there today that it’s going to take a lot of effort. And just because we don’t immediately see the impact of less birds doesn’t mean there’s no impact at all. Birds are integral to our environment; they need to be preserved as best as possible. Our intervention on the natural world–cats included–has forced a dynamic into our modern ecosystems that threatens their balance entirely.

When we think about what the “humane” or moral thing to do in regard to cats, the solution we come to–honestly and rationally–will likely not be the one we like. And we need to recognize why we don’t like it. Cats are us, and we are cats; killing them is killing ourselves. But if we let our emotional attachments win over truth and reason, we will contribute more to their suffering, and endanger our ecosystems.