Developers building 50,000 homes in the heaths of Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire have proposed to force future homeowners to sign an agreement never to own a cat. Cats kill approximately 55 million birds in the UK each year.
Imposing a cat ban for homeowners is the only way real estate developers would be allowed to build the homes close to the nesting areas in the heathland. The plan is designed to protect such birds as the Dartford Warbler, Nightjars and Woodlarks. The RSPB is backing the plan, though they are skeptical that a ban on cat ownership would remove a threat to the nesting birds.
