WARSAW, Poland (AP) – A Polish scientific institute has classified domestic cats as an “invasive exotic species,” citing the damage they cause to birds and other wildlife.
Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month’s decision, putting the key scientist behind it on the defensive.
Wojciech Solarz, a biologist at the state’s Polish Academy of Sciences, was not prepared for the disapproving public response when he entered “Felis catus,” the scientific name for the common domestic cat, into a national database run by the Academy Institute. of Nature Conservation.
The database already had 1,786 more species listed without objection, Solarz told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Invasive exotic species no. 1787, however, is such a beloved creature that it is often honored in Polish cemeteries reserved for cats and dogs.
Solarz described the growing scientific consensus that domestic cats have a harmful impact on biodiversity given the number of birds and mammals they hunt and kill.
The criteria for listing the cat as an invasive alien species, “the cat meets 100 percent,” he said.
In a television segment aired by independent broadcaster TVN, the biologist last week confronted a veterinarian who challenged Solarz’s conclusion about the dangers cats pose to wildlife.
Dorota Suminska, the author of a book titled “The Happy Cat,” pointed to other causes of biodiversity reduction, including a polluted environment and urban building facades that can kill birds in flight.
“Ask if man is on the non-invasive alien species list,” Suminska said, arguing that cats were unfairly blamed too much.
Solarz told the AP that some media reports about the list created a false impression that the institute was calling for feral and other cats to be euthanized.
Earlier this month, his institute published a post on its website citing the “controversy” and seeking to clarify its position. The institute stressed that it was “opposed to any cruelty towards animals”. It also argued that its classification conformed to European Union guidelines.
Regarding the classification of cats as “alien”, the institute noted that “Felis catus” was domesticated probably about 10,000 years ago in the cradle of the great civilizations of the ancient Middle East, making the species is alien to Europe from a strictly scientific point of view. view
The institute also stressed that its only recommendation was that cat owners limit the amount of time their pets spend outdoors during the bird-breeding season.
“I have a dog, but I have nothing against cats,” Solarz said.