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Letters to the Editor
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 14, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 01:55 a.m. HST, Aug 14, 2012
StarAdvertiser.com
For Tuesday, August 14, 2012
It's a myth that cats kill birds en masse
Mark Nakashima cites information published by American Bird Conservancy as if factual ("Don't rely on cats to
solve rat problem," Star-Advertiser, Letters, Aug. 2).
However, the conservancy uses misleading and inflated claims of bird mortality from cat predation based on
inappropriate and speculative extrapolation of a small study in Great Britain and applied to the whole of the United
States. An excellent resource that dispels misinformation is voxfelina.org.
The demise of Hawaii's native birds is due to habitat destruction, avian malaria, competition for food sources by
non-indigenous species of birds and predation on chicks and eggs by rats and mongoose.
Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) is the most effective and humane cat population management strategy. At no expense to
taxpayers, TNR is employed by volunteers using their own money and time to reduce the cat population and help the
community.
Christin Matsushige
Saint Louis Heights
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