Environmental Conflicts Caused by Feral Dogs and Cats

Abstract

Since the early stages of human evolution, animals have played an important role in people's lives and in society, contributing to economic development through both labor and production; today, companion animals play a fundamental role as family members. Despite this, some people fail to take full responsibility for their pets' care, subjecting them to mistreatment, insufficient food, inadequate shelter, and partial or total abandonment. This has forced domestic dogs and cats to seek alternative sources of shelter and food to survive, driving them into rural areas in search of prey to replace the food that should be provided by humans. In this way, dogs and cats, in their struggle to survive, adopt feral behaviors (a return to wild life), becoming specialized hunters, dominating territories, and hunting both domestic and wild fauna; in doing so, they significantly affect wildlife resources and ecosystems, and even cause economic losses to local farmers. Currently, despite the existence of regulations on the matter, local and regional authorities in Colombia take few control actions on this issue, allowing feral dog and cat populations to increase. This paper presents a characterization of the environmental conflict generated by these animals within the jurisdiction of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Central Antioquia (CORANTIOQUIA).