Corncrakes dead

Rare birds shot: Calls for cat “house arrest”

This little corncrake, the only surviving baby of its brood, is now being nursed back to health in Graz.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock Adobe, Kleine Wildtiere in großer Not)

Four out of five corncrake babies were killed by a cat in St. Ruprecht an der Raab in eastern Styria. As the bird species is extremely rare, there are now calls for sanctions for pets, with bird conservationists suggesting a curfew at dusk.

"It can be fed and is enjoying better health from day to day", says Anna Gmeiner from the Graz-based association "Kleine Wildtiere in großer Not". The baby corncrake that a cat brought home to its owner in St. Ruprecht an der Raab has been cared for there since Sunday. "The man reacted correctly and handed the relatively unharmed bird over to us straight away," says Gmeiner.

The little bird will certainly have to stay in the care facility in Graz for a few more weeks.

(Bild: Kleine Wildtiere in Großer Not)

For ornithologists, the incident means both joy and sorrow. On the one hand, it is a sensation that five specimens of this extremely rare species were found here, but the fact that four of them were killed is of course a great disappointment for animal conservationists. "The corncrake only stays in Austria for a short time. It only arrives from the south in May and is already gone again by the end of July," says Hartwig Pfeifhofer from Birdlife.

The bird species is only in Austria for a short time, from around May to the end of July. As the animals live in meadows, they are often killed during agricultural mowing work.

Hartwig Pfeifhofer

He himself recently heard - but did not see - specimens near the Rosswiesen meadows near Liezen. "The animal feels most at home in late-mown meadows that are not too rich," says the ornithologist from Graz.

Hartwig Pfeifhofer from Graz is a botanist and ornithologist and works for the bird conservation organization Birdlife Austria.

(Bild: H.Wilfried PFEIFHOFER)

As millions of birds are killed by cats every year, Birdlife Austria suggests temporary house arrest for the four-legged friends: "Birds are particularly at risk in the morning and evening hours during the main breeding season from April to July. That's why it would be a good idea to give house pets as little free access as possible during twilight hours, especially in spring and early summer," the experts recommend.

Incidentally, the German town of Walldorf has already introduced a strict curfew for cats to protect the crested lark. Gmeiner also has some sympathy for the radical measure: "We have so many 'cat victims' - from squirrels to hares - that you can understand this initiative."