Why do people complain about oil spills?

Question

There has been quite a few oil spills recently, the most recent being in korea, when this happens thousands of birds may die, but if you compare it to the number of birds and small mammals that are killed by the domestic cat, (count how many there are and estimate just how many creatures they kill) the loss is relatively small in comparison, (and seabirds are also quite common in comparison to wild birds). Why don't news programmes focus on the environmental harm caused by cats?

I am studying ecology and wildlife conservation, this is a genuine question. Cats are responsible for endangering many small mammals more than oils spills.

allmosd- there is no balance, animals have become extinct because of the introduction of non native predator species, such as the cat to britain or the fox to australia. Just because an animal preys on another it does not mean that it balances out, and it does not mean that because the prey is hunted, then the predator becomes rarer.

king midas- people do not drink sea water.

look at the cane toad-its devastated australia, but hey, it balances out-er no.

carolina- people need to get away from the notion that animals ALWAYS contribute to a stable eco system, its just not true, look at the above examples. when you introduce a foreign species to a country, the results nearly always endanger other species.

carolina- 'do you think that a body of water is going to separate a species from interacting with another species'- well yeah, that has been the case for millions of years, oh and 'foreign' species don't come from space it's a term that describes a species that is not native to the country/continent in question. Go away, read about australia, the cane toad, fox and cat and the disaterous effects it has had on some of the species there, stop believing that animals were somehow 'put' here (read about evolution too) and try to persuade your government to introduce the locust into your country, to, in your words, 'let it thrive'.-dduuhh

I am well aware that you made a sarcastic remark about space. I have not gone on a rant, I am just defending myself against responses that only loosely answered the question so I had to respond each time.
Look, all I was asking was: Cats kill millions of small mammals, (the cane toad and the fox have threatened small mammals in australia, they have killed more species than any oil slick has ever done, that is true,) why do the media focus on it so much?
Do you realise the mess that introducing non-native species into a country makes? This is a big issue in my country. That fact that you dismiss it proves that you are ignorant of serious conservation and environmental problems. Then again, it is only yahoo answers and is full of people like you.

Don't bring in my education in to this, it is better than yours.

Cotton- You were the first to question my education, I was merely responding to your statement, a statement that was both lazy and wholly irrelevent to the question that I was asking.
Given that you vaguely seem to acknowledge that non native species now affect native ones -(well done) maybe you would finally answer my question?
So, America sees oil spills as bad because it is, 'the lifeblood of their country' - well it is a shame that they don't care about the rest of the planet as the worlds largest polluter. Do you also know how to round up all the cane toads of Australia and 'neuter or spray' them? Get back to me when you have the answer, yes an answer! Maybe your Stanford education could finally help you to answer me, having said that I doubt that you will.

Answer 1

I think one of the reasons people see oils spills as bad is that people get to see the results on tv. The amount of birds that died in the largest oil spill did not equal the amount of birds that say, hit skyscraper windows in one day, or equal the amount of animals that cats kill in half a day. People don't see that when it happens. Oil seeps from the sea bed naturally, and when it does it kills many creatures, it is only that we don't 'see' it like we do on the news when a spill happens. It's a good question, spills are bad, but they don't have that big effect on the environment, but try telling people that!

Answer 2

I agree allot with Carolina.
And maybe you need to study a little more.

Pardon the interruption but you don't know me and if you did you'd know that I'm a grad. from Stanford University. So, don't ever compare your intelligence or lack of, to mine.

What's it gonna be, the cane toad, cats, oil spills...
...what? You seem to have an idea of what you want to ask but haven't the slightest idea of how to go about doing it. Yes, the US cares about the rest of the planet. When there are spills they're one of the first to offer help for clean-up.
The cane toad was introduced to Australia by it's own government in '35 in hopes to do away with it's beetle problem. There in lies that problem when, people try to fix a situation and make it worse without looking farther down the road before acting.
Since, you've made so abundantly clear that you're not from here (US) don't talk as though you do know whats going on in this country. The media doesn't report about how cats are harming the environment because, like it or not, not that many care about it or better yet theres allot bigger issues in the world today. But, you want answers to questions that no one really knows or cares about hence, only 7 answers to your question. Hey, I'm sorry that this issue isn't more important to people but, this isn't the first and it won't be the last time that something doesn't get brought to the forefront and recognized as a legitimate problem. Most of these issues where brought on by man. Oil spills, cane toads all mans fault. Cats? That's something that was put aside and left to fester.

Answer 3

Example: Cats are made by cats and are Gods creatures, put here to thrive and set a balanced Eco. system, like every other living thing.
Oil is harnessed and used by man to do many things. When a spill happens, it's mans fault and responsibility for the consequences and clean-up.
There is no comparison.

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Foreign species!? Where did they come from, space? Every animal on this earth was put here to thrive. Some have failed and some haven't but, do you actually think that a body of water is going to stop one species from a different land interacting with another? It's been going on for thousands of years. Like I said, there is no comparison.

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You wouldn't know a sarcastic remark if YOU made one. Dude, the only one that I've heard on a rant lately about oil spills and cats is you. If you have such a problem with it then, do something about it and let up on trying to impose your petroleum based feline toxicity here, it's not working. Write your local governmental official to get some notice.

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And yes people do drink sea water.

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If your country has a problem with such things like, cats, have them spayed or neutered. Create programs with Vets to have people bring in their pets to get them "fixed" for free. There are companies and businesses that sponsor things like that to help cut the rising pet population all over the world. And introducing a new species to a country that may decimate it's indigenous animals is illegal in allot of places but maybe, not yours. And by the sound of it I'm guessing you might be from the Central America's or Australia.
Look, I'm not trying to be a a**hole or anything as such but, very industrialized countries like the USA, Canada and others make big deals of when oil spills happen because, it's the life blood of those countries. And something as small (like cats) on the evolutionary chain doesn't show up or people just don't care. Obviously, it means something to you and your studies. Maybe, doing what everyone else does, protesting against the government and it's turning a blind eye to the problem sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't but, maybe may make a difference. Good luck finding a decent answer.

Answer 4

Because a Cat has a limited growth
NO FOOD = NO CAT
while the cat population is falling less cats can eat smaller animals meaning the small animal popuation grows this continues beacause
MORE FOOD = MORE CAT
see its balanced
however enviormental disasters such as fires and oil spill kill all the animals in the area there is no balance there therefore it is a cause for more concern.

Answer 5

Because an oil spill affects more than just the bird population, it affects a lot of different things. where as cats don't affect as much as an oil spill does.

Answer 6

It´s not only the damage caused to the wildlife population, it´s the damage done to Mother Earth.

Answer 7

Because people drink that water.

Answer 8

get real......i am sure if you gave it a lot of thought even you could come up with a real question