It's the cats that are to blame

It would seem that I've been worrying about my contribution to depleting fish stocks when the "real" culprits to the crisis in many of the world's fisheries are cats. Australian scientist Giovanni Turchini carried out some research looking at the consumption of fish by pet cats as compared to humans.

Here's the basic findings of his research;

Cats eat 2.48 million tonnes of anchovies, herrings and sardines each year.

American cats eat the most getting their way through 11.1 million tonnes of fish.

Australian cats eat 13.7kg of fish a year each compared to the average Australian person who only eats 11kg a year.

Part of the issue with the tonnage of fish that cats are consuming each year is that the species they consume are important in maintaining some of the bigger fish in the fisheries - tuna for example. Thus if cats continue to eat fish in such large quantities then other species will be effected leading to a collapse of fisheries.

The obvious point to make however is that its not cats that go to the shops to buy their food but their owners. Not being a cat owner myself (personally I don't like cats) I'm not sure what alternative foods are available for them. Perhaps all you cat owners can bring some pressure on the cat food manufacturers to provide more alternatives and also to look at the way the fish that is in their tins are caught? (line caught fish are better for the environment that fish that have been bottom trawled as the weights on the nets smash and plough up the ocean bed damaging the ecosystem and deep fish nurseries).

There is also an interesting sociological angle to this. Why are more people keeping cats? Does it have something to do with our busy lifestyles - unlike a dog a cat does not need walked by its owner a couple of times a day.

Comments

[Graham]

You're right when you say it's not the cats who are to blame, but the owners.
Anyway, why should we humans feed cats at all? Surely cats are a hunter species ably equipped by God to get their own food?

Or am I being a Darwinian felinist?