Although the ecological damage caused by cats has been well documented, research from Australia's Curtin University shows that dogs also pose a complex and significant environmental threat.
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Research from Curtin University reveals that pet dogs, often overlooked in ecological studies, are causing significant damage to wildlife, ecosystems and climate change through predatory behaviour, waste pollution and the environmental impacts of the pet food industry. Despite their contributions as pets and working animals, the large global dog population and low awareness of dog owners are creating unmanageable environmental impacts that require urgent collaboration. When talking about progress on climate change, it’s important to consider man’s best friend.
A new study suggests that pet dogs are significantly damaging wildlife and ecosystems. Their presence, their waste, and the impact of the food industry on the environment introduce pollution, but most owners are unaware of this.
Although the ecological damage caused by cats has been well documented, the study shows that dogs, now the most common large predator on Earth, pose a complex and substantial environmental threat.
“Associate Professor Bill Bateman, from the Faculty of Molecular and Biological Sciences at Curtin University, explained that even dogs off-leash can disturb and directly harm wildlife, especially shorebirds.
“In addition to predatory behavior such as chasing wildlife, dogs leave behind scents, urine and feces, which can disrupt animal behavior long after the dogs have left,” said Associate Professor Batman. “Studies in the United States have shown that animals such as deer, foxes and skunks avoid or are significantly less active in areas where dogs are regularly present, even when the dogs are not visible.”
He continued: “Dog waste contributes to runoff pollution and inhibits plant growth, while chemical leachates used for pest control and treatment add toxic compounds to aquatic systems. Also, the pet food industry, which relies on a huge dog population, creates a significant carbon, land and water footprint.”
Balancing the benefits of dogs with environmental responsibility
Professor Bateman emphasized that addressing these challenges requires a balance between reducing environmental damage and maintaining the positive role of dogs as pets and therapeutic companions.
“Dogs play an important role in our lives — they provide emotional connection and even aid in conservation efforts as exploratory animals,” he said. “However, the sheer number of pet dogs in the world and the misguided or unconscious behaviors of some owners require us to find ways to make pet ownership sustainable.”
Barriers to sustainable pet ownership
The study also identified key barriers to environmentally friendly dog ownership practices: While the pet food industry is considered a key player in national environmental action plans, only 12–16% of dog owners are willing to pay a premium for organic food, largely due to rising prices. In addition, dog owners’ lack of awareness of the environmental impact of their dogs compounds the problem.
“Many dog owners are unaware of the environmental damage they and their actions cause, from the depletion of wildlife to the pollution of ecosystems,” said Associate Professor Bateman. “Others feel that their individual actions are insignificant, creating a ‘tragedy of the commons’ where shared spaces such as beaches and forests are gradually eroded.”
He added: “Dog bans in sensitive areas are necessary to protect vulnerable species, but do not provide a complete solution. We call for collaboration between dog owners, conservation organizations and decision-makers to develop strategies that allow pet ownership while protecting the environment.”
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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You are afraid to say it, but you would rather no one existed in the world to protect the "environment" under the guise of the "climate crisis"
All this biological habit claim of yours is a pretext for why we should stop having children, and in doing so, you are the ones destroying the world! Learn what the world is and then make claims.
There is no end to trolling..
The devil will rise up. They and their kind (including me and you) are the greatest of the harmful.
Open a window. Maybe the temperature is dropping because you turned on the air conditioner.
There is no climate crisis. You're fed up. A bunch of pathetic liars.
You uprooted the trees, the ones that produce oxygen, you killed the cats, now there are rats in their place. The temperature didn't rise, the sea didn't rise. If anything, on the contrary – there was a decrease of a tenth of a degree and there are enough articles about the sea receding on the beaches.
Stop spraying people from above with all kinds of drugs. Stop uprooting trees and handing over parks and nature reserves to terrorists to build houses there.
Leave the cow farts alone. Go eat carcinogenic synthetic meat.
Good health to you.
And don't worry, we will settle accounts with all of you, including the little journalist for hire who wrote the organic fertilizer he claims is an article.
Some nonsense "scientists" spew. What they think is harmful to the environment is cow farts… human breath… the sun… in short… the environment🤣 In the meantime, the only unnecessary thing is the nonsense of bored people who waste time and money on dealing with poop.
Agenda 2030
Population decline
The separation of man from nature
World dictatorship
You see "the newspaper"
Yes, just because of the dogs and cats.
Oh, I forgot, yes, the animals are the cause.
For environmental pollution and global warming
Not the human stomachs that suck up and open the bowels of the earth to find the "treasures of nature"
Global warming is not because of air pollution from factories, cars, and many other pollutants. It is because of the cow's fart and the neighbor's cat's fart.
The amount of nonsense you speak has no limits to the perhaps minimal harm to domesticated and wild animals.
The problem is with us humans, the greed that is in us, and that is understandable in you.
Meat: People only want to eat the smuggled parts, so it turns out that more beef is being slaughtered.
And a lot of what they put in is thrown in the trash.
Animal parts must be burned so they don't contaminate the soil.
Regardless, the amount of cattle for breeding, eating, and milking needs to be reduced.
If we humans were known not to eat if the poor, then it would probably be a little different.
And this applies to many other things, for it is said in the Torah that gold blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous.
The Lord of the universe does not ask us for offerings of gold and silver, He asks us to offer the forbidden parts of the burnt offering that are offered as a burnt offering.
Unfortunately, they are also trying to destroy Judaism and do not understand the essence of being a Jew.
If we want to be and leave a better world behind us, we need to live in health together in complete love.
So I told you this.
True love will always win.
Even the cats that humans put in nature reserves like the HaShalulit Park in Netanya preyed on tiny animals like small birds that nested in the bushes before some people thought that "cute cats" added nature to the park. The opposite is true, they and the crows prey on small animals like goose chicks.
It's time for the authorities to start reducing their spread in such places.