Madam,

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 all birds are protected by law and it is an offence to kill or take any wild bird, with unlimited fines and up to six months imprisonment if found guilty.

Natural Resources Wales has announced its scientific review of a General Licence which enables the lawful control of problem bird species.

This is a contentious issue and there has been much debate about the wording of the General Licence.

There is opposition to the killing of any birds for any reason and I wonder if Natural Resources Wales will now consider the damage done by domestic cats to wild birds?

The Mammal Society estimates the nine million cats in the UK kill 90 million prey items each year. Of these 27 million are birds but these fall outside of the law as it stands and their owners are not liable to prosecution. Is it not time for domestic cats to have the same lawful controls as domestic dogs and for their owners to be responsible for the actions of their cats under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and stop this carnage to our fast declining wild bird species?

Yours etc, John Davis, Ffair Rhos, Ystrad Meurig.