A Domesticated Killer

       A study done by Nature.com has just opened my eyes to an unseen and widely disregarded problem. Cats are causing more deaths of birds and mammals each year than all other human causes.

Cat after killing rabbit

The estimated numbers are:

1.4-3.7 billion birds killed each year
6.9-20.7 billion mammals killed each year

According to Nautre.com, "Our findings suggest that free-ranging cats likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for US birds and mammals". 

This new discovery is truly staggering. Although stated that the majority of the cats are un-owned, a significant percentage is still from the exact domesticated cats that owners across the nation have come to love. Cat owners may argue that it's just the nature of their cats, but that's truly insensitive in regards to the widespread deaths they are causing for really no reason. Cats of all shapes, sizes and domestication are contributing to the tens of billions of deaths annually.

I think though that it is an incredible American value to disregard such findings. For Americans, (me included with my dog) we think that our pets could never be the brunt of atrocities. Cat owners included may think that their cat can't possibly be the cause of such deaths. They're wrong. Instead of just disregarding such findings, Americans need to become more aware of occurrences around them, like their pets killing more birds and mammals than themselves each year.

What do you think? Do Americans have a problem of disregarding information possibly pertaining to themselves? Any personal experiences? Please share in the comments!