News24 | Feline killing frenzy: A house cat’s charm hides its dark side as a serial killer of wildlife

Guy Oliver

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Cats have been associated with widespread predation of wildlife.

Yulia Naumenko/Getty Images

Cats – the playful and affectionate pet nuzzling an adoring owner – have been unmasked by the respected science journal Nature as an “indiscriminate predator” killing “essentially any type of animal that they can capture at some life stage”.

The authors claim that the study, A global synthesis and assessment of free-ranging domestic cat diet, published this month, is the “most comprehensive” insight into the “world’s most successful and widely distributed invasive predators … and possibly the largest for any species worldwide”.

Examining both feral and house cats’ stomach contents from data stretching from the late 19th century to contemporary research reveals a feline killing frenzy driving many species to extinction.

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