Cats to be put on leashes to protect wildlife? EU says No
In this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 file photo, two cats sit at the top of the stairway in the middle of a small fisherman's landing in Valletta, Malta. The EU on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, said it guarantees the right of domestic cats to roam free, even if they can be a threat to birds. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
BRUSSELS — Put domestic cats on a leash to better protect threatened birds and the environment? The European Union says that would deny mankind’s furry friend its unalienable right to roam.
The EU’s executive said Thursday that it is “a strong defender of free movement rights — including of cats” and “categorically” denied it would ever force cats to be kept indoors or on a leash, as one scientific study suggests.
Tilburg University scientists wrote in Oxford’s Journal of Environmental Law that free-ranging domestic cats “impact biodiversity through predation, disturbance, competition, disease and hybridization,” and added that the predatory impact is worse than often assumed.
They argued that EU laws and directives could effectively force owners to keep them indoors or on a leash outdoors.
- How Medicare can help you manage pain
- Road closures in Northern Arizona
- Police release name of Prescott Valley woman who allegedly caused five-vehicle crash
- Iron Cask restaurant to open in January at Prescott Valley Crossroads
- Photo: Winter snowstorm dumps 7 to 12 inches on Prescott area
- Rescuers search for girl, 6, missing after truck swept away
- Mid-week storm moving through Northern Arizona
- Update: Highway 89A, Glassford Hill area now open after accident
- New actions approved in Yavapai County's push toward $70M bond issue for jail in Prescott
- Campers rescued from rising flood water in Camp Verde
- Road closures in Northern Arizona
- How Medicare can help you manage pain
- Plan on I-17 closure if heading to Phoenix this weekend
- Granite Mountain Hotshots centerpiece unveiled in park
- New hospital in Prescott?
- Closures, cancellations, delays for Thanksgiving storm
- Police: Impaired driver causes 5-vehicle crash on Highway 69
- Friday Catchall: Goodbye, Sears store; hello, new jail
- Prescott mayor, two others assaulted by 73-year-old man at private event, police say
- Photo: Winter snowstorm dumps 7 to 12 inches on Prescott area
More like this story
SUBMIT FEEDBACK
Click Below to: