THE question of invasive species threatening the Bermuda environment has been catapulted into the news again by the suggestion put forward by Environment Minister Dennis Lister that there should be a cull of feral cats.

The suggestion has been met with some concern from some of the island's animal control specialists and veterinarians.

This week in Insight, those who work with animals every day have their say on cat culling and touch upon the connected wider environmental issues.

THERE is no doubt in Lyn Vaughan's mind which has been and continues to be the most damaging invasive species in Bermuda - humans.

The president of the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB) points to mushrooming development leading to loss of open space and pollution of air, water and land as evidence for her case.

It's difficult to argue that any other species poses a more dangerous threat to the environment.

So as a woman who has spent countless hours over the past nine years working towards bring feral cat numbers down by means of trapping and neutering, Ms Vaughan feels the idea of a cat cull is missing the point.

"The bottom line is that man needs to change his ways to protect the environment," said Ms Vaughan. "Killing a few cats will not even scratch the surface of the disaster of the Bermuda environment."

Over the past decade, BFAB has trapped and neutered nearly 8,000 feral cats. With most domestic cats now being neutered too, there has been a gradual decline in the number of ferals.

BFAB estimates there are probably fewer than 1,000 unowned cats still to be trapped wandering around Bermuda.

But in the House of Assembly two weeks ago, Mr. Lister (pictured right)warned that the problem had become severe and the "soft-hearted approach" was not working.

Neither veterinarians nor the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA) were consulted before Mr. Lister made his remarks.

And Andrew Madeiros, president of the Bermuda Veterinarians Association and shelter chairman for the SPCA, said he believed BFAB's neutering programme was working.

"There is no doubt that BFAB's work has been effective," said Mr. Madeiros. "They have made a significant difference to the number of feral cats.

"Anyone who has lived on the island for a number of years will have noticed that you don't see so many cats running around the neighbourhoods any more.

"At the SPCA, I know we don't get anything like the number of kittens we used to have in April, May and June. Sometimes we would get 60 at a time.

"There used to be large numbers of kittens waiting to go through the adoption process, now we have more people looking for kittens."

Mr. Madeiros, who has sent letters on behalf of the vets' association and the SPCA to Mr. Lister within the last ten days, said a cat cull was fraught with potential difficulties and needed detailed planning and preparation.

"The idea of culling feral cats sounds really simple, but you can't just decide to go out and do it right away," said Mr. Madeiros. "A large number of Bermudians have cats who are outdoors a lot and wander around. If you start some sort of trapping programme, how do you determine what is an owned cat? That is probably the biggest issue.

"They are presumably going to have to hold animals, the same as they do in the dog pound, for four working days. Feral cats are difficult to handle.

"So you need people to feed and look after them and if an owned cat is euthanised, then the Government will be liable.

"Before we can start euthanising cats, we have to instal an identity programme, where all cats can be identified by tattoo or microchip.

"All puppies are now being microchipped and in five years probably the vast majority of dogs in Bermuda will be microchipped.

"But there are clearly a large number of cats who have no chip or tattoo."

Ms Vaughan said colonies of feral cats fed and monitored by BFAB volunteers had reduced significantly in numbers in recent years.

"Compulsory neutering of non-breeding cats and a form of identification of cats who have a caregiver is essential to breaking the cycle between domesticated cats who are allowed to breed and the offspring who become feral," said Ms Vaughan.

"In fact, BFAB has done such a good job that there are probably under 1,000 such cats remaining to be trapped. Many of the cats which we have trapped in the past are now part of a family group and dearly loved companions. We have also seen most of the large colonies decrease in size dramatically. This shows that our programme has been effective.

"Many of our reserves are under stress from other sources, mainly man who has caused the deterioration of those habitats in numberless ways. Even the removal of all cats would not change that."

We humans had to look more critically at our own stewardship of the environment, rather than continually point the finger at other species, she added.

"The destruction of the environment is caused by two things; natural catastrophe and human beings," said Ms Vaughan. "The major cause of a decline of any species is destruction of the habitat of that species. A creature can withstand many other threats but that. What causes destruction of the habitat? You guessed it; natural catastrophes and human beings.

"Before you start blaming other creatures, look at our actions. I would be very interested to see if anyone anywhere has collected figures on the number of creatures killed directly by man (hunting, fishing, driving, golfing, culling, etc.) or indirectly by man's actions in clearing habitat for building, farming, mining and drilling."

She argued that it was our greed for space and resources that were putting at risk the future of species like the bluebird.

"Every time we eat an egg, chicken, beef, lamb, buy a car, build a house, we are supporting major industries which have eaten up land needed by wildlife to survive.

"We are not going to give these things up nor are we going to expel ourselves from Bermuda to right the balance of nature here.

"We are not going to cull the major destructive and invasive species, man. In fact, we are looking to increase the number of people living in Bermuda and increase the housing and vehicles."

And she said it was wrong for Bermuda to point to the usual suspects when expressing concern for the environment when failing to take account of our own destructive behaviour.

"Even if you killed every rat, kiskadee, sparrow and cat in the island (these are those openly named as responsible - man comes in as "development"), it would not save the bluebird from its only real enemy - man, who destroys its home and kills its prospects for building a family now and in the future.

"Man also does a good job of that in his own family. A bluebird box will not achieve its objective of providing a successful home if sufficient land is not available. The acres of land formerly occupied by the bluebird are now occupied by humans. The bird's need for open space is only exceeded by our greed for our wants.

"Golf courses may be the saving grace of the bluebird as long as pesticides do not rule the management plans of the courses' superintendents."

MS Vaughan added that if Bermuda wanted to save the bluebird, a serious study was needed to ascertain what areas were frequented by the species and to give this special consideration when it came to planning development.

"Each generation decides what kind of life it will tolerate. We are in an age of strong interests in preserving native and endemic flora and fauna but an equally strong unwillingness to do without those things which harm these very flora and fauna.

"During apartheid, we spoke strongly about the regime and the need to boycott South African products. However, we did not give up diamonds and gold, chief earners of foreign currency for South Africa.

"Now, we do not want to give up our cars, our manicured and bug-free lawns, the home which replaced the nature reserve. Rather than accept the serious effect on the environment by just these three 'necessities of life', we want to persuade ourselves that the problems are elsewhere and caused by something else.

"Our actions have already eradicated much, leaving fond memories. We hated the singer or cicada but now it is gone, we realise its uniqueness in our life. The cahow is at the brink of extinction. Rising sea levels will finish off what man started by settling in Bermuda and destroying all but one island of its habitat.

"The skinks' homes in the rocky foreshore have been replaced by condos, and homes and hotels. 'I am entitled to displace the skink owners of this property. I am human. I take priority over any other life form. I can kill anything; it is my right to do so.'

"We have no controls in place to prevent the growth of the human population and its wants, and we do recognise that this is the most invasive, destructive species on earth.

"We are heading for irreversible changes in our environment and all the well-meaning people in Bermuda are tackling everything but the central issue - man. This does not mean that we must give up what we are doing.

"We carry on and share our goals with others. If we listen to each other's common goals and act on them, everything falls into place and the differences often disappear or become as nothing."