We recently returned from a night away to find a dead young robin deposited at our back door entrance, clearly a cat casualty (we have had a robin nesting in our garage).

Our songbirds have been declining in numbers for some time, and it is estimated that cats now kill 55 million birds each year in the UK.

We are, of course, a nation of pet lovers, and this gives us responsibility to control them.

In the case of cat owners, they should provide litter trays to avoid the fouling of neighbours’ lawns, plant pots and gardens.

And their prime responsibility is to keep their cats inside overnight, since night time and early morning are the prime hunting periods.

This action alone could reduce songbird mortality in this country by tens of millions each yera.

Cat owners, please think carefully about this.

Robin and Eva Boston 
Bridport