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Originally Posted by Barnet Flame
We aren't talking about a recent man made phenomena. Cats have been 'domesticated' for pretty much the entire history of civilisation. As a consequence the impact of that activity has continued unabated for all of that time.
Now were talking of introducing additional controls because as much as we've successfully domesticated cats, we have been less successful (ie not at all) in curtailing their predatory instinct.
That they kill creatures is something I've never disputed. I'd rather they didn't, but I don't get worked up about it. It has been a natural occurrence for millenia.
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Ah. So you have no concept of "the entire history of civilisation (sic)". Domesticated cats have been around for about 8000-12000 years. The oldest birds species are six million years old. Sparrows have been recognizable for 50k years and have existed in fossil records for hundreds of thousands of years before that. Some people theorize birds are miniature dinosaurs.
So now you have a statistically insignificant amount of time in existance for domesticated cats compared to a statistically abnormal amount of bird and mammal deaths. That should clarify things.
You're probably thinking, cats have been around for millions of years too...saber tooth tigers and such. But you must understand the effect domestication has on a species. Billions of cats would not have existed if people hadn't created them, bred them and included them in domestic life. They may have the "predator instinct" as dogs do. But they are not a part of the natural order of things if simply by numbers alone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube
He also didn't have claws, so he was only able to kill a couple birds/mice in his life. Proud moments for him, though.
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That's good but I would think any cat without claws would be at risk more so than cats with claws.