Domestic cats and biodiversity - an international wildlife law perspective

Around the world, free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) – pets, stray and feral cats – threaten wildlife in various ways, from direct predation to disease transmission. According to a rapidly growing body of scientific knowledge, cats in fact occupy a top rank amongst invasive species threatening biodiversity. This raises the question what law has to say about outdoor cats. The webinar addresses this question, with an emphasis on international wildlife law. Besides highlighting a broad range of relevant obligations, the webinar also seeks to make sense of the current pervasive non-compliance with these obligations. The webinar builds on two recent publications:

- A. Trouwborst & H. Somsen (2020) ‘Domestic cats (Felis catus) and European nature conservation law – applying the EU Birds and Habitats Directives to a significant but neglected threat to wildlife’, Journal of Environmental Law, https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqz035

- A. Trouwborst, P. McCormack & E. Martínez Camacho (2020) ‘Domestic cats and their impacts on biodiversity – a blind spot in the application of nature conservation law’, People & Nature, https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10073

Arie Trouwborst is an associate professor of environmental law, interested in understanding and improving the contribution of (international and European) law to the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of wildlife. Trouwborst received an LLM (2001) and PhD (2006) from Utrecht University. He authored various books and numerous journal articles on a range of legal instruments, countries, species and topics. He frequently conducts advisory work for international entities (e.g., Bonn Convention on Migratory Species, Bern Convention on European Wildlife, IUCN), national governments, and NGOs.

 

[Host: Paulo Célio Alves, Conservation Genetics and Wildlife Management - CONGEN]


Click here to watch the webinar recording