EPN Breakfast Club

The Environmental Professionals Network hosts a monthly breakfast series with compelling speakers on important innovative topics at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on Ohio State’s campus - open to all!

Cats – Cuddly Pets Indoors, a Threat to Birds, Wildlife, Health Outdoors

Cats

Cat lovers in the U.S. own about 90 million cats, bringing much joy to tens of millions of families.  There are also, however, an estimated 60-90 million unowned free-ranging cats in the U.S., cats which may be hit by vehicles, preyed upon by other animals, and can contract – and spread – a variety of diseases.  Global impacts of cat predation are documented: a minimum of 33 extinctions and a decline of at least 142 species of birds, reptiles, and mammals; mortality of an estimated average of 2.4 billion birds (~69% from unowned cats), 12.3 billion mammals, and hundreds of millions of reptiles and amphibians. Cats can also pose a threat to public health from potential transmission of diseases, most significantly Toxoplasmosis.  Attend this EPN breakfast program to learn more about these issues and perhaps more importantly, what people can do to ensure cats are well cared for and what can be done to reduce wildlife and health impacts of unowned and outdoor cats.

Presenter

Peter Marra , PhD, Director, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo, Washington, D.C. 

Co-author (with Chris Santella) of Cat Wars – The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer, 2016

Peter P. Marra has written more than 175 scientific publications, is the coeditor of Birds of Two Worlds, and directs the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Chris Santella is the author of many books, including the Fifty Places travel and outdoor series and The Tug Is the Drug. His writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, and Trout.

Learn more about Dr. Marra 

Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Deadly Killer (2016, Princeton University Press) paints a revealing picture of a complex global problem—and proposes solutions that foresee a time when wildlife and humans are no longer vulnerable to the impacts of free-ranging cats.

Agenda 

    7:15  Networking with beverages 
    7:40  Warm buffet breakfast
    8:10  Welcome/Program
    9:15  Q&A /Discussion
    9:30  Wrap-up

Location 

Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center
2201 Fred Taylor Drive
Columbus, Ohio 43210

Maps and Directions

Parking

Parking is free but you must have a pass which you can download here and place on your dashboard, whether parking across the street or behind the 4-H Center.

Registration

REGISTER NOW

OSU students may register for free by selecting the "student scholarship" option on the registration page

For further information about these 2nd Tuesdays Breakfasts or the EPN, please contact Joe Campbell at campbell.844@osu.edu or 614-634-6363.

Event images/recording disclaimer: Registration and attendance at, or participation in, EPN meetings and other activities constitutes an agreement by the registrant to EPN and the School of Environment and Natural Resources use and distribution (both now and in the future) of the registrant or attendee's image and voice in photographs, videotapes, and electronic reproduction of such events and activities.