University of Cape Town Fitzpatrick Institute of Ornithology's Dr Rob Simmons has done yet another study of domestic cats' predatory habits. Every few years he supervises master's students - by my count three - whose research topic is the same: cats are predators that kill prey (duh!). The recommendations are they must be controlled. Reactions typically border on hysteria with one caller to CapeTalk calling cats "vermin" and journalists urging cats be controlled. Simmons has made a career of demonizing the exaggerated threat domestic cats pose to wildlife. In doing so he appears not to be concerned about other, pressing threats like traffic, development and agriculture which individually and together are worse and unnatural to the environment (cats are natural predators and existed for thousands of years). Unfortunately the media pick this up, sensationalise it more and don't interrogate and ask trenchant questions of this "research" - assumption...