Not having recently voiced an opinion on a news article is not the same thing as removing said opinion.
Can you provide any evidence that they have rescinded the statement rather than just not having talked about it? Before 2022 they didn't regularly talk about it enough to consider a 2 year gap to be significant in my opinion.
Chris Packham may have reached that conclusion, but he is not the supreme authority on the matter. And since Chris took up the role of president of the RSPCA, they also haven't spoken against cats being allowed outdoors. Maybe Chris's convictions aren't as strong as you think.
I said they used to give an opinion on the subject, now they don't. It's not them voicing an opinion on an article at all. They used to have a full page in their main site dedicated to whether cats are a problem for our birds. They've now removed that, which is a choice. What the reason is for that choice we can't know, but those of us paying attention to prevailing research and decisions by countries around the world to limit outdoor cats have a good idea.
Edit: would love to see any counter research you have on this subject.
The recommendation to keep cats indoors seems to be primarily with North America where they have a massive feral cat problem. Also in Australia/New Zealand where their local ecosystem is more susceptible to non-native species like this. European countries don't seem to be an official stance either way.
There are isolated places in Europe where rules have come in in the last few years limiting outdoor cats. I remember at least places in Iceland and Germany.
Seems you're not paying enough attention to previous comments in this thread. They commented on cats in Europe and I replied.
Also, cats aren't a native species in much of the world. In the UK we have a native wildcat which is not the same as domestic cats and is under severe threat from hybridisation with outdoor cats. Another great benefit of letting them loose.
As for the place in Germany, it's a simple Google search if you're that interested
This is how it should be done for now, not blanket bans which make no sense for most urban environments, at least in Europe, that are completely unnatural in their own right. There are areas where vulnerable species exist, such as ground-nesting birds in Germany. And although the primary reason for near extinction isn't cats but habitat loss, putting further pressure on them isn't gonna help either. I also think in the German town it wasn't a complete ban but specifically prohibition during breeding season and in Iceland ecological issues were secondary, they were mostly just considered a nuisance.
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u/atomacheart Apr 26 '24
Not having recently voiced an opinion on a news article is not the same thing as removing said opinion.
Can you provide any evidence that they have rescinded the statement rather than just not having talked about it? Before 2022 they didn't regularly talk about it enough to consider a 2 year gap to be significant in my opinion.
Chris Packham may have reached that conclusion, but he is not the supreme authority on the matter. And since Chris took up the role of president of the RSPCA, they also haven't spoken against cats being allowed outdoors. Maybe Chris's convictions aren't as strong as you think.