An “ecological compensation tax” could be the answer to cats killing around 50 million birds a year in Germany. Said by leading ornithologist Peter Berthold, head of the bird keepers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell on Lake Constance.
He suggests that German cat owners could be hit with a special bird-kill tax like the one dog owners pay. Enough is enough, Berthold told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper. Each cat kills at least 40 birds a year - as well as around 200 small mammals such as mice, and a large number of lizards, snakes and even butterflies.
But a cat tax can make the situation worse, warns Thomas Schröder, president of the German animal protection association because many animals would suddenly be thrown out, or given to animal shelters as the owners would not want to, or be able to cover the extra costs. This could lead to more feral cats being on the prowl and feeding on feathered victims, he suggested.
The Local/hc
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130429-49433.html#.UX5_KKPU_cs