CAT CULL: Cats should be BANNED from going outside or be KILLED, leading scientist demands
A SCIENTIST has terrified cat-lovers around the world after calling for the cuddly pets 'to be reduced in number by any means necessary'.
Roaming cats should be banned or killed insists scientist
Dr Peter Marra, a world bird expert, has demanded all cats be banned from roaming outside.
In a chilling interview, the leading conservationist wants all stray felines either adopted into homes or, if that is not possible, euthanised in a global cull.
The unprecedented call for a global wipe-out of cats took place as Dr Marra told Radio 4's Today programme that cats are killing billions and billions of birds every year.
Dr Marra has called for all cats to be BANNED from going outside
According to the conservationist, the world badly needs severe cat control.
Dr Marra, the director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, blamed the cuddly pet species for the extinction of 63 mammals, birds, and reptiles.
The scientist said the problem "can absolutely be fixed" and said the science community "knows what we need to do - including euthanasia".
In his shocking new book, Cat War, he wrote: "From a conservation ecology perspective, the most desirable solution seems clear - remove all free-ranging cats from the landscape by any means necessary."
Cats are 'implicated in 63 extinctions of mammals, birds and reptiles'
Dr Marra is the Head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre
The conservation scientist said pet cats can be allowed to live but must be put on leads if they leave the house.
He called it "inhumane" to let cats outside during his call for an all-out war on felines.
In the interview, he said: "Cats are allowed to roam outside, that needs to stop.
"Put them on a leash if you want them outside.
"We also need to get all stray cats off the landscape.
"Those cats need to be captured and adopted out.
"If they can’t be adopted, they will need to be euthanised."
Dr Marra wants stray cats eradicated
If they can’t be adopted, they will need to be euthanised
He told the BBC: "We have a big problem on our hands.
"Cats are having a devastating impact on biodiversity, a significant impact on human health and spreading disease."
Dr Marra pointed to health consequences of rabies and parasitic toxoplasma passing from cats to humans in rising rates.
He added: "They kill 2.4 billion birds every year. Here in the UK alone, there are 8.1 million which kill 275 million animals a year."
He said the extreme measures were not just to save humans but also cats themselves, who he warned can be hit by cars or mauled by dogs or pick up diseases in the outside world.