February 12, 2021
Results of a scientific field study, led by Univ. of Exeter's Dr. Robbie MacDonald, were published in the journal Current Biology this week."Fitting Birdsbesafe collar covers reduced the numbers of birds captured and brought home by 42% but had no discernible effect on mammals."
And, the research paper characterized it: "Birdsbesafe is a colorful collar cover that works as a visual warning, increasing the visibility of cats to potential prey animals with color vision. It exhibited pronounced effectiveness in reducing killing of birds, and more generally, prey with good color vision, including herpetofauna."
The study also considered other strategies for reducing cat predation on wild animals. Two strategies, feeding cats more meat-based protein and providing more play activities for the cat, reduced the cat's predation by 36% and 25% respectively, across all prey types.
The field study involved 31 cat owners who tested the Birdsbesafe cat collar cover on 50 cats. For a 7 week period, no cat collar was used, followed by a 12-week period of cats wearing Birdsbesafe covers. Participants, who lived in southwest England, recorded observations of their cats and the prey returned to the homes.
The raw data reported in the journal article showed 267 birds caught by these 50 cats, when no cat collar was worn, compared to 146 birds returned to the homes by cats when the cats wore Birdsbesafe cat collar covers. The field testing was performed in March to early June, with the earliest weeks of the trial being used as a "baseline" for the rate of capture (i.e. no Birdsbesafe worn during those weeks).
This study result of a strongly protective effect for birds when cats wear Birdsbesafe covers is an excellent result. However, the rate of 42% reduction is less strongly protective then two similar studies, in the U.S. (showing an average of 87% reduction) and in Scotland (78% reduction).
Great appreciation to the participants and authors of this latest science study. As always, please keep your cat indoors, if you can. And if you choose to let kitty roam, please try one (or more) of the mitigating strategies to protect birds and other wildlife. Remember, while it is "natural" for a cat to try to hunt, it is not necessary that we let the cats succeed to the detriment of wildlife.
Thanks for caring about cats and birds!
November 28, 2020
As we enter the holiday season, in 2020, it is remarkable how very unique 2020 has been around the globe. What remained the same, for us at Birdsbesafe company, was our devotion to helping cat owners save birds!
October 17, 2020
We really enjoy hearing from you about your successes with Birdsbesafe® collar covers on your cats protecting birds in your yards. Here's just a sampling of some recent emails that we have received! We appreciate every one of them.
Thanks for caring about cats and birds.
"We love your product, it’s amazingly effective…not a single caught bird since we’ve started using the collar covers. Wish all cat owners who let their cats outside knew about these."
October 08, 2020
Today, in Vermont, we are past our peak foliage color display, and the first snow fell in the White Mountains last night in nearby NH. Many species of birds have already migrated through, on their way to wintering locations to the south.
A few weeks ago, we saw this unidentified Thrush species, with a few other birds, grazing over a period of days as they fed for the long flights to come. And today, there were Dark-eyed Juncos and a small flock of these Sparrows.
