Dogs' becoming major threat' to wildlife

BBC ^ | 2/11/19 | Navin Singh Khadka

[DallasBiff]

They may be our "best friends" but dogs have also emerged as a major threat to wildlife.

Scientists say they have contributed to the extinction of nearly one dozen wild bird and animal species.

As such, they have become the third worst human-introduced predators after cats and rats.

Now dogs are said to threaten nearly 200 species worldwide, some of which are critically endangered, studies suggest.

[DallasBiff]

I know this article is over four years old, but IMO, maerist libs hate anybody having a pet, except their own kitty, named Lenin, which purrs up to their bosom.

[Blueflag]

Then there’s what cats do to birds...

[FlingWingFlyer]

So Navin Singh Khadka came to America to go to journalism school and this is all he could come up with? Sorry slick but wild animals take more pets than pets take wild animals. Lighten up pal.

[Jonty30]

Bringing about a world where humans long to die for relief is a liberal endeavour.

[sasquatch]

human-introduced ?? Who knew?

[moviefan8]

My dads’ cats have solved his squirrel and rodent problem. The reduced their huge population. He loves his cats.

His dogs on the other hand hardly do anything except beg for food and want to be played with.

[V_TWIN]

“Then there’s what cats do to birds”

Spend some time watching eagle cams and you might not feel so strongly about that.

Eagles and other predator birds are indiscriminate and about what they catch for their chicks.

I warned my wife about that, it took her seeing it for herself to believe it......and cats aren’t off the menu.

[FrankRizzo890]

“human-introduced predators” I’m sorry, aren’t dogs descendents of wolves, whom we had NO influence on the introduction of?

[House Atreides]

Jeez, I’ll believe this silly BBC story whenever any of my dogs ACTUALLY catch a squirrel they’re chasing.

[V_TWIN]

If the author wants to clutch pearls about an animal doing damage he should research what wild pigs are doing to farm land.

[Blueflag]

Just a matter of who’s higher on the food chain, eh?

Be glad you don’t have coyotes in your area. They are proficient at reducing the outdoor cat population. Small dogs too.

Our family’s dogs range from German shepherd to Shetland sheepdog (Shelties). They are both loving, man’s-best-friend AND excellent watch dogs. They also keep the deer and squirrels outta the apple orchard quite effectively.

[Blueflag]

Bingo! But farming harms the environment ya know ...

[V_TWIN]

No, no coyotes here......alligators however

[gundog]

Window panes and powerlines kill plenty of birds, too.

[waterhill]

One of my cats brought me a shrew. Blew my mind. I had no idea that they were around here.

[Blueflag]

I think the point of all these stories is to Condition people to the viewpoint THAT EVERYTHING humans do harms Gaia.

[woodbutcher1963]

We have three Long Haired Chihuahuas. We have a 24” high metal fence around our brick patio. One morning the female Chi caught a Grey Squirrel before it made it to the fence. She caught it by the tail. The tail literally came off. Not a piece. The whole tail. A couple days later I look out the window and saw a Squirrel WITHOUT a TAIL. We named it the Prairie Dog Squirrel because of its resemblance to that animal. We continued to see it for several months.

[AC86UT89]

Cue the FR dog worshippers:

“Oh noes! Snuffles is friendly, he wouldn’t hurt a fly!” (Gag)

[waterhill]

Where do you live?
I’m in East TX, we have gators everywhere.

[DallasBiff]

One of my cats brought me a shrew

What exactly is a "Shrew"?

In my education, Shakesepere corollated "Shrew" as a total "bitch"".