Cats kill around 16 million birds and small animals each year in Ireland – causing serious "ecological damage" to the country, according to a leading environmentalist.

It follows controversy around a hunting competition in New Zealand last weekend that allowed children and adults to hunt feral cats, which organisers say threaten native wildlife.

Almost 400 cats were killed, with one participant killing 65 cats alone, sparking complaints from animal rights groups.

Wildlife dangers

On The Pat Kenny Show, environmental journalist John Gibbons said Ireland's 750,000 cats pose a real threat to wildlife.

"Cats are effectively apex predators; they may be small, but they’re natural born killers and incredibly agile," he said.

"Think of them as a scaled-down tiger and then imagine letting that tiger loose in your garden.

"They’re cuddly with us because we’re 20 times larger, but when you release a cat into the wild, then you’ve got a whole different proposition on your hands."

A domestic cat playing with a dead bird. Image: Rodger Tamblyn / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Gibbons said it was important to understand the numbers.

"It is reckoned there are about 750,000 cats in Ireland," he said.

"If we take their average killing rate in the UK and apply it back to Ireland, we reckon they're killing about 16 million birds and small mammals every year in Ireland.

“If any other animal were involved in that level of killing of wildlife, we’d be up in arms about it.”

Feral populations

He said there are "far too many" cats around.

"During Covid, there was an increase in ownership, and when people started going back to the office, quite a number of these cats were pushed out into the wild,” he said.

“We’ve seen an increase in feral populations, and like so many ecological issues, it’s really about balance or the loss of balance.”

“Considering that bird populations in Ireland and elsewhere are already under extreme pressure due to habitat loss and pesticide use, cat predation is pushing many bird species closer to extinction.”

A rescue in Chelsea, New York, 15-06-2018. Image: Frances M. Roberts

'Barbaric' hunt

Mr Gibbons said the hunting competition in New Zealand may seem “barbaric,” but is aimed at protecting native species.

“They have many ground-nesting birds, like the iconic Kiwis, the national bird of New Zealand, which has been taken to the edge of extinction by cats,” he said.

“You have these highly adapted mammal hunters that arrived with humans, and their populations exploded as they wiped out the birds.

“Imagine how easy it is for a cat to kill a ground-nesting bird that’s trying to defend its nest? The issue here is their wildlife is being obliterated by an invasive species.”

Up to four billion small birds and animals are estimated to be killed annually by cats in the US.

Main image: A tabby domestic cat with a bird in its mouth. Image: Juniors Bildarchiv GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo