> Which type of feline is suspected of hunting and killing billions and billionsof birds each year?And the answer: domestic cats. Photo credit: PBSAs it turns out, nature's perfect killing machines can befierce predators and cuddly house pets at the same time. Small animals stand nochance to the might of feral and domestic cats: these felines kill more thanthree billion birds every year in North America alone. In fact, the effect is sosubstantial that songbird populations are actively declining across the country. The cat vs. bird dilemma has gone so far as to spark somewhat of a national andat times global debate. Countries like New Zealand have since taken drasticmeasures to limit the presence of feral cats in wildlife, while others encouragea simple trap, neuter, release program. Since this 2013 study[https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380], two sides have emerged from thewoodwork on whether or not letting pet cats roam free is contributing to thenational songbird decline. One side argues that free-roaming house cats do morelittle more than control the rat population and encourages dealing with theferal cat problem before any other. This side tends to argue that cats need thegreat outdoors, that tapping into their intrinsic survival instincts isnecessary for domestic cats to flourish.Then, of course, there is the side of the reasonable scientist. This perspectivedraws from the data pointing to the songbird's decline before staring pointedlyat the "harmless" suburban outdoor cat. It reasons that the population of birdsisn't declining for just any reason, and that if songbirds are meant to surviveand thrive then pet owners must get handle on the situation. What do you think? Are domestic cats quite as lethal to songbirds as datasuggests? Can we really hold them culpable? Check out this[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/moral-cost-of-cats-180960505/] Smithsonian article for more info.