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Conservation issues.

Two threads on this page: Sheep and "Goats" and Cats and wildlife.

18/7/03:  Sheep and "Goats".

AC from a country park says: First off I'm a Countryside Ranger looking at grazing a young orchard and I would like to hear from anyone who knows which breeds of sheep are least likely to cause damage to young trees i.e they won't eat them like goats. Secondly, I have a real problem with Goats-rue (Galega officinalis) in our conservation grasslands. We have tried just about every practical solution that has been suggested even, dare I say it, herbicides without much success. If anyone has had success controlling this invasive legume I would be interested to hear your response. Our grasslands are dry mesotrophic lowland habitats on a recycled landfill site. (Ref: SG)

CJS replies: I know the Game Conservancy Trust ran some experiments (many years ago now) on different sheep breeds and which would eat Purple Moor Grass, they came up with the Hebridean as the best. It's a small rare breed which has a passing resemblance to a goat, but I don't know whether they would graze trees, possibly not if they preferentially graze PMG. It might be worth contacting GCT to try getting hold of a copy of their paper on the results and if they could offer any suggestions as to the preferred grazing of different species, for similar reasons you could try the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (based at Stoneleigh). (ref: SG-R1)

RB in Cornwall adds: I have seen recently an independent organisation called the Grazing Animals Project (GAP) who produce a newsletter and share info on exactly the kind of questions described above. I came across it in my local English Nature Office, but sorry, I don't know any more! (ref: SG-R2)

IE of Gloucestershire says: Having used various breeds, I wouldn't trust any not to chew fruit trees! Ideally protect the tree trunks, bearing in mind that they will get their noses through the smallest gaps. We are using Soays in an orchard, but the trees are very mature. We also have some larger breeds e.g. Jacobs, Wiltshire Horn and others in an orchard, and they marked several mature tree trunks where they could. This suggests that it also depends how the sheep were reared, and whether they have learned to eat bark? Get hold of the breeds profiles from English Nature / GAP / FACT. (Ref: SG-R3)

DH of Wiltshire adds to the above: Grazing Animals Project (GAP) and FACT have a web site which is ideal for exploring this issue Their website is fact-group.com . This is gradually replacing their Nibblers and Organic NNR discussion groups. In lowland Britain, I have only encountered Goat's Rue in waste places, so I assume it is a plant of disturbance. Its possible that grazing animals will over a few years control the Rue as they encourage a grassy sward to develop. That said, I have wondered why it is so called - perhaps it is poisonous to goats not that legumes are renowned for that sort of thing. I don't think goats would be necessary, as the only come into their own in scrubby places, and if there aren't enough brambles and bushes they will certainly give the fruit trees a go. The question is all a matter of how young the orchard is and how established the trees are. Another possibility is to have some pigs - Gloucester Old Spots were traditionally kept in Orchards, they will keep the ground pretty bare until the bushes have established and then you can move over to a sheep based system later. (ref: SG-R4)

 

16/7/03:  Cats and wildlife.

SP of East Sussex raises a new subject: Dear all, I awoke this morning to a disturbance in the back garden and amidst two barking dogs, noticed next door's recently acquired cat, making off with a male blackbird in it's mouth. I have always been an animal lover and accept that all pets, including cats, can bring tremendous pleasure to their owners. It does though, occur to me that, though much debate centres around a multitude of issues that concern damage to ecosystems, species loss and a generally vast array of the negative aspect of man's time on this planet, sensitive topics nearer to home often avoid discussion or are awkwardly ignored, cats are an issue that still have a noticeable impact on our wildlife yet the present slaughter continues unchallenged and unabated. I am very interested to know how many cat owners are completely unaware of the significant mortality of wildlife that their loved feline companions contribute to, how many just don't care, or indeed the opinions of other readers of this discussion board be they cat owners or not. Here are two simple statistics, there are now one million plus moggies in the UK, between them they account for an approximate mortality of two hundred and thirty thousand bats per year, over twice the number of deaths caused by Tawny Owl, a natural predator of bats. At present persons who kill or disturb bats (or any other protected species) in their place of shelter or protection are in breach of the Wildlife and Countryside act and can as such, be prosecuted. Perhaps we should bring in legislation to enable cat owners to be prosecuted for the same offence perpetrated by their cat, after all surely is the owner not ultimately responsible? The solution to the above? keep your cat in at night; though that will not save the lives of countless songbirds, it would reduce considerably the death toll of nocturnal animals preyed on by cats. As someone who works in the environmental sector I consider this an important issue worth discussion.

I suspect though it may be a controversial one, let debate begin! (ref: CW)

►In reply on 28/7/03: I agree, there should be some sort of control over the number of cats in one 'neighbourhood' as we have so many where I live now, I'm sure the bats, birds, frogs, owls, mice, and reptiles don't stand a chance!! I read somewhere that feral cats have a territory of around 1 cat per 15 km, not sure if this is accurate or true, but if it's close, then my neighbourhood is well over populated, (maybe we should take up cat hunting instead of foxes!) Only joking, I agree that they are wonderful pets, maybe have a communal cat for each street, is it not true that some cats visit several different 'owners' to be fed? Or maybe bells on collars? Simple but effective? Details supplied (Ref: CW-R1)

►CM of Cambs says: All cat-owners should ensure their pets are neutered, so the cat population does not expand further. Contact Cats Protection www.cats.org.uk for advice. (ref: CW-R2)

►NN, West Yorks says: I have recently had experience of the destructive ability of household cats. I am currently running a small mammal project at Leeds University and early one morning was very surprised to find a number of my Longworths disturbed - as part of my PhD this obviously had the effect of ruining a days data collection....a little further on the culprit was found - a big ginger tom...having the time of his life! So, yes, I agree, people need to have more consideration for the effect their pets can have on others...  (ref: CW-R3)

I had a similar problem when I worked at a University Field Station. An animal wiped out a brood of day-old Gadwall that I had in a breeding pen (the site had an eight foot security fence around it). I set a cage trap and next morning I had caught a most beautiful long haired cat, complete with silken collar and bell. I took it to the local RSPCA office and handed the stray cat (?) in. I also sawed off the tree branches that were over-hanging the security fence. End of problem. Some American people that I used to know brought their cat with them from the States. It had been de-clawed to prevent it damaging their furniture! They had a large colony of bats in the roof of their house, the cat was never seen to kill one. I understand de-clawing is not allowed in the UK, thank goodness! Details supplied. (Ref: CW-R3a)

►BB from the Netherlands says: I am living in a place with an average that says that there are more cats then houses. It's some sort of a bungalow-park for students in Wageningen, the Netherlands. 15-20 cats/ha. Although the park has existed for more then 30 years, with that same average, there still is a big variety of all kinds of birds flying around, there still are heaps of mice, who are brought to me every day and some rats of course. Bats are overnumbered, but the cause of that is to find in the fact that a bat-cave was made nearby. What I actually want to say is that I do not think that cats are a danger to ecosystems. Most of the blackbirds brought to me, are brought to me during spring. But you can give that a name as natural-selection, in which 'natural' is debatable of course. And I think that mice is not a specie to worry about. He will survive as long as there is food to fill his little stomach and a fellow specie to breed with. Nevertheless it's a good idea to hang a bell around a cats neck and to neutralize there needs to copulate. For me those 2 solutions have nothing to do with saving ecosystems. The thing is that I don't have to remove the separated and spreaded little bodies from the floor anymore and I don't have to ask people if they already have a cat and if not, if they don't want to have one. (ref: CW-R4)

►As an owner of two cats and a passionate conservationist I appreciate the concerns raised about the effect cats have on wildlife. Both my cats have bells on their collars, I don't really know how effective they are but I suspect they are of at least some value. I realise that nobody is suggesting this situation is the fault of cats themselves as they are only doing what's natural after all. However, I wonder how may readers eat meat. This may seem irrelevant but in fact causes the needless suffering and death of millions of innocent animals every year. It is also extremely environmentally unsound as rainforests are destroyed, wetland drained etc. to provide grazing land for livestock to provide meat for humans, or for arable land to supply animal fodder. As many will know there is a huge loss of energy at each step in the food chain. It is extremely wasteful to voluntarily place ourselves at a higher trophic level than is necessary. The impact of cats on wildlife is minute compared to the negative effects of supplying billions of human beings with an ever growing supply of meat. I hope my comments will help to put this debate into context as well as encourage readers to at least think about becoming vegetarian for environmental if not ethical reasons. Details Supplied (Ref: CW-R5)

► On 23/3/05 SB in Lancashire adds - We have a large garden with approx. 30 bird boxes (various), 2 bat and a single hedgehog box with a top individual species count of 29 garden birds in our garden at any one time. Next doors cats, two persians and a black and white 'pensioner' must be the most incompetent or docile of hunters in the feline world. I have witnessed many attempted attacks over the years and acts of "can't see for looking" such as a Song Thrush within 1 foot of the rear of one Persian and it not notice its presence (thankfully). Also a Persian being startled by a flock of finches and vacating the area with its body and tail to the ground. Although I have found numerous feathers (Collared Dove, Goldfinch) it can be safe to ascertain that a marauding Sparrowhawk from the Pennine Moors was guilty. Oh the older 'pensioner' cat just likes to drink from the bird bath (ignoring most of the birds anyway) find a warm sheltered spot and sleep. Its a shame all cats were not as docile or as incompetent hunters as these. (Ref: CW-R6)

 

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