Leave the cats alone! An estimated 300 million to 1 billion birds are killed yearly from collisions with buildings

According to a March 14, 2019 news release by Audubon.org, the mortality rate for birds killed in the United States is an estimated 300 million to one billion yearly. The killer? It’s NOT cats. It’s buildings.

bird conservation
Destroyed habitat is a major killer of birds (photo by Elisa)

I’m doing a copy and paste from the news release so the cat-hating trolls who ramble on about cats being the main killed of bird can read the precise text given in the release

The release by Audubon.org explains two new bipartisan bills

“In recent weeks, Members of Congress have introduced two bipartisan bills that will help protect and conserve birds across the country and around the globe. The Bird-Safe Buildings Act (H.R. 919), would advance bird-friendly practices on federal buildings to help reduce collisions, while the Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act (H.R. 1305) will expand international cooperation to help save these charismatic seabirds.

The Bird-Safe Buildings Act (H.R. 919), introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), will help address one of largest sources of mortality for birds in the country. An estimated 300 million to 1 billion birds are killed each year from collisions with buildings. The Bird-Safe Buildings Act will set bird-friendly standards for federal buildings by requiring the adoption of proven and cost-effective practices that limit collisions while setting a leading example for buildings throughout the nation.”

A petition can be found here to urge lawmakers to pass the Bird-Safe Buildings Act

A quantitative review conducted by NCBI that incorporated data from 14 studies meeting inclusion criteria to estimate that between 12 and 64 million birds are killed each year at U.S. power lines, with between 8 and 57 million birds killed by collision and between 0.9 and 11.6 million birds killed by electrocution.

Yes, cats do kill a lot of birds. So does loss of natural habitat, power lines, buildings, vehicles and communication towers. You can’t blame it all on cats.

I don’t see the above changing, especially when builders are turning every bit of land they can get ahold of and destroying it for the animals that call it home.

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