Pet animal protection laws often conflict with laws that protect wild species, with dogs and cats being invasive species that destabilize the ecosystem.
Around 44% of EU households have at least one pet, of which more than 90% are cats or dogs. Although we have been bringing more and more pets into our lives in recent decades, this trend soared during the pandemic of COVID-19. The companion animal population in Europe increased by around 11% in 2022, reaching a total of 340 million, mainly cats (127 million) and dogs (104 million).
As people adopt more and more pets, they are increasingly concerned about protecting their well-being. At the same time, declining wildlife populations mean we are also increasingly concerned about biodiversity preservation.
These two concerns are not always easy to reconcile. While there is some overlap between wildlife conservation and animal welfare, there is a clear bias when it comes to weighing the needs of domestic and wild animals – especially when the two interact.
A recent publication in Biological Conservation identifies the main points of conflict between animal welfare advocates and nature conservationists and looks at ways in which the EU could reduce the impact of pets on wild animals.
Conflicting legal frameworks
The European Union has a robust environmental legislationwith the Birds and Habitats Directives playing a particularly important role in protecting wildlife. In contrast, animal welfare legislation – especially that relating to pets – is much more recent and, in practice, is still at an early stage.
Naturally, animal welfare covers only domestic speciesleaving wild animals under the responsibility of environmental legislation. This imbalance has created a significant regulatory gap, particularly with regards to what happens when pets cause harm to wildlife.
Pets in the wild
The pets that have the greatest impact on wildlife are those that become feral. Abandoned or escaped animals can form self-sustainable populations in nature, with serious consequences for native species.
Parrots that escape their homes are a good example of this. Species such as the collared parakeet or the monk parakeet have established colonies in many European cities. Although there is a clear consensus that are invasive speciesits management presents a complex socio-environmental conflict.
There is no doubt that parrots compete with native species for nesting sites and resources. But, as they are a charismatic species and beloved by the public, measures to control their population often cause controversy.
However, the wild pet of most concern is the domestic cat. Considered one of the most harmful invasive predators on the planet, it is responsible for around 25% of the recent extinctions of reptiles, birds and mammals worldwide.
Despite the evidence, there is still considerable resistance in Europe to recognize stray cats as an invasive species. This limits legal options for managing their impact.
Pets on the loose
Many pets spend part of their time outdoors unsupervised. In the case of dogs, the impacts are mainly manifested in the wild animal predation and disease transmission.
Cats that come and go at will are also predators, even when well fed. They particularly affect the bird populations and small vertebrates in urban and suburban areas.
A specific case is that of cat colonies. Controlling stray cat populations is generally the responsibility of EU Member States, resulting in widely varying approaches, ranging from animal removal to capture, sterilization and return programs (CED).
Although CED is socially accepted, scientific evidence shows that in most cases it is not an effective way to reduce cat populations or their short-term impact on wildlife.
Dog walking
Walking dogs in nature is a popular way to spend free time, and its growing popularity has led some areas to create beaches designated for dogs. This type of management is likely beneficial to the health of pets and their owners, but not to wildlife.
On natural beaches, for example, dogs can seriously affect the birds that nest not onlysuch as the Kentish Plover. Even when there is no direct predation, the simple presence of a dog can cause birds to abandon their nests or reduce incubation time, damaging their reproductive success.
Animal welfare and conservation
As biodiversity declines and the number of pets in European homes increases, wildlife conservation and animal welfare advocacy are increasingly at odds. There is an urgent need for reconciling these different perspectives and align their respective legal frameworks.
The EU has the legal power to act. Environmental directives already oblige Member States to prevent harm to protected species, which could translate into clearer restrictions on the free movement of animals companyespecially in protected natural areas.
At the same time, the development of new animal welfare legislation offers an opportunity to reinforce the responsibility of ownersalso reducing the impact of freedom of movement and preventing animals from being abandoned or becoming wild.
Authorities need to take seriously the need to regulate the impact of pets, and pet owners need to get involved in preventing this impact. Only then can we avoid a world where the only wild animals we see on our nature walks are our own pets.
