Victoria Bird Week is a week-long celebration running May 10-17. The global theme for this year is “Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities.”
According to the group Birds Canada, over 100 million birds are killed in Canada by free-roaming domestic and feral cats each year.
The District of Saanich is one of 30 municipalities across Canada that have been Bird Friendly City Certified. A member of Saanich council has committed to “protecting bird habitat, reducing threats to their populations and providing community education to help support these priorities.”
The BC SPCA, and many other conservation groups, recommend that cats live indoors. They indicate that indoor cats have a longer life span than those that can roam free outside. The SPCA provides many reasons why cats should be kept inside, and recommends access outside only in “catio” enclosures, or on-leash. They also provide activities to help cats adjust to an indoor environment.
The American Bird Conservancy has a Cats Indoor program and provides educational material and recommendations to the public and policy makers, through a newsletter and other actions.
Another bird-friendly action that can be taken by homeowners is to mark thin, white vertical lines, no more than four inches apart, on home windows, and on glass railings, both of which are high strike/kill zones for birds.
If Saanich, or any other jurisdiction, is to truly be considered a ‘Bird-Friendly City’, there will be a need for significant education and regulation that requires cats to become indoor and on-property only and no longer allowed free rein of natural areas or neighbourhoods.
We eagerly await fulfillment of these commitments by Saanich and other municipalities.
Ted and Lora Lea
Saanich
