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Last modified on Wed 26 May 2021 07.11 EDT
Road verges covering 1.2% of Great Britain, an area the size of Dorset, could be used to grow wildflower meadows and create habitat for wildlife, a study says.
In a report outlining the scale of road verges in England, Scotland and Wales, researchers from the University of Exeter used Google Earth and Google Street View to estimate that verges account for about 1,000 sq miles (2,579 sq km) of the UK’s land.
According to the report, up to 707 sq km (27.47%) of road verges are short, frequently mown grassland. The rest includes 1,062 sq km (40.87%) of regular grassland, while 480 sq km (18.73%) is woodland, and 272 sq km (10.66%) is scrub.
More meat and playtime can calm your killer kitty
by Liz Kimbrough on 15 February 2021
A new study found that feeding cats a grain-free, high-meat-protein diet and engaging in 5 to 10 minutes of daily object play reduce predation by cats by up to 36% and 25%, respectively.
High densities of cats have been linked to devastating effects on populations of small vertebrates at continental scales including billions of small mammals and birds killed each year in the United States alone.
Although keeping your cat indoors is the only way to prevent it from hunting, those involved in the study expressed hope that these preventative measures will be simple enough for pet owners with indoor/outdoor cats to adopt, sparing the lives of many small and wild creatures.
Feeding your cat more meat and playing with them each day can reduce the number of wild animals they hunt and kill over 2 billion birds and 12 billion mammals in the United States alone each year.
This image shows a cat playing. Encouraging play is one way to help prevent cats from hunting wildlife. (Credit: Martina Ceccheti)
(CN) You love your cat. You also like to watch the birds flitting in your backyard trees. But these lovely creatures are part of an ancient food chain that pits one against the other.
A new study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology has found ways to keep your cat happy while protecting the birds they like to hunt.
Domestic cats are a major threat to wild species, including birds and small mammals. But researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on February 11, 2021 now have evidence that some simple strategies can help to reduce cats environmental impact without restricting their freedom. Their studies show that domestic cats hunt less when owners feed them a diet including plenty of meat proteins. Equally, it helps to play with them each day in ways that allow cats to mimic hunting.