[CWF PHOTO CONTEST PICTURE SUBMITTED BY MRS. DEBBIE OPPERMANN]
A new study was released by Environment Canada that shows how human activities in Canada affect wild birds, and the numbers are pretty astounding! The study estimates that, in Canada, nearly 269 million birds and 2 million nests are destroyed each year. Predation by cats and collisions with houses, vehicles and transmission lines together account for more than 95% of all human-related bird deaths.
Lets break down the numbers for these top 4 causes of bird deaths in Canada:
- Cats (both feral and pet) are believed to be the largest human-related source of bird deaths – killing approximately 196 million birds in Canada every year
- Bird mortality associated with collisions with houses in Canada each year is estimated to be about 22.4 million
- Bird mortality associated with vehicle collisions is estimated at 13.8 million
- Bird deaths associated with collisions with transmission lines across Canada is estimated at 25.6 million each year
Check out some of our resources below for tips on how we can help reduce the number of birds that die in Canada every year:
Terri-Lee Reid
Terri-Lee Reid is a Freshwater Conservation Researcher at the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF). She leads initiatives in researching, designing and delivering freshwater programs and advocating CWF’s freshwater positions to government, the public and other stakeholders.
