“Bad News for Man’s Best Friend: Dogs Are Environmental Villains”
That’s the title Mother Jones gave to a reprint of an article from The Guardian by Donna Lu.
I’m an insane, crazy cat lady. The environmentalists have already attacked cats.
(Cats rule, by the way. I’m always threatening Professor Jacobson with a post all about cats and how they’re the greatest animal on the planet!)
But now I think the climate alarmists have gone too far. Describing dogs as “environmental villains” could be their undoing!
The Guardian focused on a recent study that claims dogs wreak havoc on the environment.
Basically, dogs could be the world’s undoing! Then again, they said that about cow farts and whatnot. We should also eat bugs!
Why do dogs suck so much? Because they act like nature intended, the same as cats:
The review, published in the journal Pacific Conservation Biology, highlighted the impacts of the world’s “commonest large carnivore” in killing and disturbing native wildlife, particularly shore birds.In Australia, attacks by unrestrained dogs on little penguins in Tasmania may contribute to colony collapse, modelling suggests, while a study of animals taken to the Australia Zoo wildlife hospital found that mortality was highest after dog attacks, which was the second most common reason for admission after car strikes.In the US, studies have found that deer, foxes and bobcats were less active in or avoid wilderness areas where dogs were allowed, while other research shows that insecticides from flea and tick medications kill aquatic invertebrates when they wash off into waterways. Dog faeces can also leave scent traces and affect soil chemistry and plant growth.
I say, keep your dogs on a leash and don’t let them get out.
Oh, wait. This “study” found a problem with that idea: “…they are implicated in direct killing and disturbance of multiple species, particularly shore birds, but also their mere presence, even when leashed, can disturb birds and mammals, causing them to leave areas where dogs are exercised.”
Cats vindicated, though: “However, data from wildlife care centres indicate that owned dogs are responsible for more recorded attacks on wildlife than cats (Holderness-Roddam and McQuillan 2014). Owned dogs (62%) have been recorded as catching a higher proportion of native animal prey in Australia than owned cats (47%), and also take larger prey (Franklin et al. 2021).”
Look, train your dog. If you are not patient or responsible enough to take all the necessary steps to raise a well-behaved animal, do not get one.
It’s why I do not have a dog. I do not have the patience to train or pay attention to a dog. I make sure my cats stay indoors. No outside for them at all!
If I ever got a dog, I’d choose a German Shepherd. They’re my favorite.
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