As per a research published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, millions of animals are killed every year by UK domestic cats. But majority of cat owners do not agree that their pet cats can harm wildlife.

The study was carried out on 86 cats in two villages. In the survey, 60% of owners disagreed that cats harm wildlife and 13% strongly refused to accept it. When asked to keep their cats inside their homes as a safety measure, owners refused to do the same.

Dr. Jenni McDonald, from the University of Exeter's Penryn campus in Cornwall, said, “Our study shows that cat owners do not accept that cats are a threat to wildlife and oppose management strategies with the exception of neutering”.

McDonald said the study findings clearly reveal that there is a need to address the perceptions and opinions of cat owners. In the study, the researchers observed the hunting behavior of 86 cats belonging to 58 households in the villages of Mawnan Smith in Cornwall and Thornhill near Stirling.

The study researchers affirmed that in a period of four months, the cats in Mawnan Smith in Cornwall led to 325 victims, comprising of mice, voles, birds. Amongst all, house sparrow was the most common species targeted by cats.

In the case of Thornhill cats, mammals were the most-commonly caught prey. The researchers said that cat owners were not aware of the predatory behavior of their pets.