Ongoing grounding of cats in Walldorf for three months annually to protect endangered bird

A German town, Walldorf, ordered residents to lock their cats indoors over the summer for the next three years or face a fine of €500. The move was designed to protect ground-nesting, endangered crested larks; particularly the hatchlings who are very vulnerable. Fines could rise as high as €50,000. Ornithologists were clearly delighted at the move. For example, Peter Marra one of the authors of the 2016 book Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer, said that he was really glad it’s happening. No doubt he is hoping for the policy to be adopted elsewhere.

Cat predation on crested lark curtailed by Walldorf’s administrators. Image: MikeB based in Pixabay image and image in public domain.

It would seem that this domestic cat lockdown is designed to occur over the breeding season because people in Walldorf in south-west Germany are now allowed to release their cats to the outdoors if they are kept on a leash no more than 6 feet in length. Cats had previously been confined to the indoors for three months.

They say that cats will be allowed to roam free from one minute past midnight today! Woosh, there’ll be a mad rush to release them at midnight.

During domestic cat confinement in this jurisdiction, if a cat escaped, citizens were told to call a special hotline and then find and detain the offending feline. Spying on neighbours? This is the difficulty with these policies: enforcement.

The authorities have been trying to protect the crested lark. The species is endangered in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and wider Germany.

Apparently, there are just three breeding pairs left in Walldorf. Birds that hatched in the spring are now developed sufficiently to be able to escape the attentions of domestic cats it is thought which allows authorities to lift this all out ban on wandering cats.

But as mentioned in the opening paragraph, the plan to confine domestic cats will continue during forthcoming bird breeding seasons and therefore the lockdown is expected to return next spring and in subsequent years.

Noticeable, brightly coloured, cat collar protects birds from cat predation (47 – 54% reduction)

I believe this policy in Germany is the first of its kind in Europe and possibly in the West. This sort of domestic cat lockdown has occurred and continues to occur in certain Australian jurisdictions where they are particularly concerned about predation on native species. Ironically in Australia they appear to be more concerned about small mammals and marsupials, which are particularly vulnerable to feral cat predation, rather than birds which are more able to escape.

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They blame the cats for ALL birds disappearing instead of farming, poisons, buildings etc.

Mike just read this on a petition.

Some say olives taste better if they are harvested at night, that cooler temperatures enhance the flavor.

However, nocturnal harvesting also results in millions of dead birds1.

At least 2 million birds are killed each year by the olive industry’s harvesting practices2.

In Portugal alone, an average of 6.4 birds are killed in every hectare of olive groves3.

In Portugal and Spain, where many of the world’s olives come from, olive season spans from October to January. During the same period, migrating birds are passing through the two Mediterranean countries. Millions of birds make their homes in the olive trees during warm nights4.

Birds are typically safe from the threat of harvesting during the day. It is easier for birds to escape harvesting tractors when they are awake. But the bright lights used by harvesters confuse the birds at night, causing them to get sucked into the vacuums and killed5.

The same birds are then sold, illegally, to local hotels to be served as ‘pajarito frito,’ or fried bird6.

Species such as warblers, thrushes, wagtails, finches, and robins are commonly killed by the millions. The ecological consequences of this slaughter could cause entire biomes to collapse7.

Globally, migratory bird populations have plummeted in recent years and European farmland avian species specifically have been hit hard. In the past 30 years, their populations have fallen by 55%. Considering that over 1 million animal species are now in danger of disappearing from the Earth because of human practices, there is little time to delay in calling for stronger restrictions on industries and governments that contribute to this killing8.

Sign the petition below and help us ask Portugal and Spain to ban night harvesting and the sale of dead bird “bycatch” to hotels as food, and further require olive growers who harvest at night to monitor and report the number of birds killed in their machines as other industries do.

Comments

Ongoing grounding of cats in Walldorf for three months annually to protect endangered bird — 3 Comments

tamara beinlich on August 15, 2022 at 7:29 pm said:
They blame the cats for ALL birds disappearing instead of farming, poisons, buildings etc.
Mike just read this on a petition.
Some say olives taste better if they are harvested at night, that cooler temperatures enhance the flavor.
However, nocturnal harvesting also results in millions of dead birds1.
At least 2 million birds are killed each year by the olive industry’s harvesting practices2.
In Portugal alone, an average of 6.4 birds are killed in every hectare of olive groves3.
In Portugal and Spain, where many of the world’s olives come from, olive season spans from October to January. During the same period, migrating birds are passing through the two Mediterranean countries. Millions of birds make their homes in the olive trees during warm nights4.
Birds are typically safe from the threat of harvesting during the day. It is easier for birds to escape harvesting tractors when they are awake. But the bright lights used by harvesters confuse the birds at night, causing them to get sucked into the vacuums and killed5.
The same birds are then sold, illegally, to local hotels to be served as ‘pajarito frito,’ or fried bird6.
Species such as warblers, thrushes, wagtails, finches, and robins are commonly killed by the millions. The ecological consequences of this slaughter could cause entire biomes to collapse7.
Globally, migratory bird populations have plummeted in recent years and European farmland avian species specifically have been hit hard. In the past 30 years, their populations have fallen by 55%. Considering that over 1 million animal species are now in danger of disappearing from the Earth because of human practices, there is little time to delay in calling for stronger restrictions on industries and governments that contribute to this killing8.
Sign the petition below and help us ask Portugal and Spain to ban night harvesting and the sale of dead bird “bycatch” to hotels as food, and further require olive growers who harvest at night to monitor and report the number of birds killed in their machines as other industries do.
More on this issue:
Jelisa Castrodale, Vice (20 May 2019), “Millions of Birds Are Vacuumed to Death Every Year for Our Martini Olives.”
Luis P. da Silva & Vanessa A. Mata, Nature (07 May 2019), “Stop harvesting olives at night — it kills millions of songbirds.”
Carla Tomás, Expresso (24 February 2019), “Como milhares de aves estão a morrer no Alentejo.”
Olive Oil Times (2022), “What months are olives harvested?”
Katie Dangerfield, Global News (21 May 2019), “Millions of songbirds ‘vacuumed’ to death every year during olive harvest season.”
Bird-free Olives (2019), “The Problem.”
Eben Diskin, Matador Network (22 May 2019), “Millions of Birds Are Vacuumed To Death During the Olive Harvest Each Year.
Brian Resnick, Vox (7 May 2019), “A million species are at risk of extinction. Humans are to blame.”
To Top
The Petition:
To the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development of Portugal, and the Minister of Agriculture of Spain,
The mechanical harvesters that shaking loose olives into powerful vacuums for collection also ingest millions of important migratory birds, whose disappearance could soon cause a massive ecological collapse.
Birds like redwings, warblers, thrushes, wagtails, finches, and robins become confused by the strong lights of the machines, and killed by the harvesting vacuums.
In southern Spain, olive farmers sometimes sell the dead to local restaurants which offer them on menus illegally as fried birds. Not only is this illegal, it motivates the killing of species which are are already considered by conservationists to be in decline.
Migratory bird populations have plummeted in recent years and European farmland avian species specifically have been hit hard. In the past 30 years, their populations have fallen by 55%.
Considering that over 1 million animal species are now in danger of disappearing from the Earth because of human practices, there is little time to delay in enacting stronger restrictions on the olive oil industry.
I ask that you ban night harvesting and the sale of dead bird “bycatch” to hotels as food, and further require olive growers who harvest at night to monitor and report the number of birds killed in their machines as other industries do.
Reply ↓
- Michael Broad on August 16, 2022 at 5:58 pm said:
  Thanks for this. Also cats often kill dying or ill birds and they even scavenge dead birds.
  Reply ↓
  - tamara beinlich on August 16, 2022 at 9:04 pm said:
    Interesting article. I saved it so I can send it to the next scientist who publishes a article pointing a finger at bird killing cats!
    I’m so sick of cats being blamed for killing birds and that’s why so many have become endangered! It’s all b.s. I lost count how many dead birds I picked up that died during 3 polar vortexes last winter. They literally fell out of the trees frozen to death. Since I’m in southwestern Missouri and usually have mild winters birds stay here in the winter. I’m curious to see which birds decide to fly further south this winter.
    Reply ↓