Could dressing your cat up in a RAINBOW RUFF save our birds? Special collar reduces savage killings by more than HALF

  • The anti-predation collar cover is called Birdsbesafe (BBS)
  • It's easily spotted by birds, reptiles and amphibians - or 'herpetofauna'
  • These animals have advanced colour vision compared to mammals
  • During tests the collar reduced captures by 54% in one year
  • Rainbow and red BBS collars were more effective than the yellow collars
  • The $9 collar did not prevent the cats catching mice and rats

More than 55 million birds are killed by cats every year in the UK alone.

But researchers have discovered that dressing felines in multi-coloured collars could drop this kill rate by 54 per cent.

During tests, an anti-predation collar known as Birdsbesafe (BBS) was found to give birds more warning about an impending attack due to their advanced colour vision.

Scroll down for video 

The anti-predation collar cover is called Birdsbesage (BBS) and is designed to be easily spotted by birds, reptiles and amphibians - known as herpetofauna. These animals have advanced colour vision compared to mammals. During tests the collar (pictured) reduced captures by 54% in one year

The anti-predation collar cover is called Birdsbesage (BBS) and is designed to be easily spotted by birds, reptiles and amphibians - known as herpetofauna. These animals have advanced colour vision compared to mammals. During tests the collar (pictured) reduced captures by 54% in one year

The $9 collar is sold by a Vermont-based firm of the same name. It is available in yellow, red and rainbow designs and claims to ‘save birds from cats.’

Researchers from the School of Veterinary and Life Sciences at Murdoch University, Australia – led by Catherine Hall - wanted to put this collar to the test.

During a two-year period, Ms Hall and her team asked cat owners to report on the number and type of prey caught by their pets.

COLOUR VISION IN BIRDS 

Birds can see certain light frequencies - such as ultraviolet - that humans cannot see.

Many songbirds have feathers that reflect ultraviolet light to communicate and attract a mate.

Both birds and humans have photoreceptive 'cones' in the retina located at the back of the eye that help the eyes see colour light.

In humans, there are three types of photoreceptive cones which are sensitive to red, green, or blue, and this is called trichromatic colour vision.

Birds have an additional cone for tetrachromatic colour vision. 

This expands the visible light spectrum. 

Birds also have up to 12 times the number of cones - around 120,000 cones per square millimetre - compared to humans.

In the first year they studied the effectiveness of each individual colour and in the second year they concentrated on the rainbow collar.

They discovered that the number of birds, reptiles and amphibians were reduced by 54 per cent across the board, but the rainbow and red BBS were more effective than the yellow.

During the second year, captures were reduced by 47 per cent.

However, captures of mammals such as mice and rats were not reduced significantly.

The researchers said this is because birds, reptiles and amphibians have a more advanced colour vision meaning they could spot the collar more easily than animals with limited colour vision.

Birds, for example, can see certain light frequencies - such as ultraviolet - that humans cannot see.

Many songbirds have feathers that reflect ultraviolet light to communicate and attract a mate.

Both birds and humans have photoreceptive cones in the retina located at the back of the eye that help them see colour light.

The $9 collar  is available in yellow, red and rainbow designs and claims to ‘save birds from cats'
Researchers discovered that the number of birds, reptiles and amphibians killed were reduced when cats wore any collar colour, but the rainbow and red BBS were more effective than the yellow

The $9 collar is available in yellow, red and rainbow designs and claims to ‘save birds from cats.’ Researchers discovered that the number of birds, reptiles and amphibians killed were reduced when cats wore any collar colour, but the rainbow and red BBS were more effective than the yellow

In humans, there are three types of photoreceptive cones which are sensitive to red, green, or blue, and this is called trichromatic colour vision.

Birds have an additional cone for tetrachromatic colour vision. 

This expands the visible light spectrum. 

Birds also have up to 12 times the number of cones - around 120,000 cones per square millimetre - compared to humans.

The researchers also said they found no evidence that cats maintained a lower predation rate once the BBS was removed.

The researchers said this is because birds, reptiles and amphibians have a more advanced colour vision meaning they could spot the collar (range pictured) more easily than animals with limited colour vision

The researchers said this is because birds, reptiles and amphibians have a more advanced colour vision meaning they could spot the collar (range pictured) more easily than animals with limited colour vision

‘The BBS is an option for owners wishing to reduce captures of birds and herpetofauna by free-ranging cats, especially where mammalian prey are introduced pests’ explained the study.

‘To date, the BBS is the only predation deterrent that reduces significantly the number of herpetofauna brought home.’

Almost 80 per cent of the pet owners said their cat showed no signs of distress when wearing the collar, and another 17 per cent said their cat got used to the collar within two days.

The research was published in January in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.