Animal welfare organisations speak out against German outdoor cat ban

Cat owners in the German town of Walldorf have been ordered this week to keep their pets indoors until the end of August to protect a rare bird during its breeding season.

The decree is designed to help save the crested lark, which makes its nest on the ground and is therefore easy prey for feline hunters.

The bird’s population in Western Europe has declined sharply in recent decades. Although it is listed as a species of least concern in Europe by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"Among other things, the survival of the species depends on every single chick," authorities in Walldorf said.

The rule applies to all cats in the southern part of the town and will be repeated for the next three years from April to August.

Owners risk a fine of €500 if their cat is found roaming outside and could be slapped with a penalty of up to €50,000 if their pet injures or kills a crested lark.

If you live in Walldorf this question is no longer in your hands, but for those in other areas the answer may not be so clear-cut.

“Suddenly preventing cats that are used to going outside from doing so, means immense restrictions and stress for the animals,” Deutscher Tierschutzbund, Germany’s largest animal welfare organisation, said in a statement to Euronews Green.

"The negative influence of cats on the population of songbirds is in any case controversial and, to our knowledge, has not yet been proven for the crested lark in Walldorf."

The organisation supports measures to protect the crested lark but believes no animal can be treated as second class.

“Defining domestic cats as 'culprits' for the endangerment of certain bird species also means letting them take the blame for the fact that humans have destroyed habitats and food