'BIKE Helmet' was killed one morning last week.

She was a female blackbird that had become a familiar sight in our garden. We watched every day over several months as she went about her business of raising young.

She had raised one brood, and was on her second. Now the male will have manage on his own – I hope he succeeds. Clearly, Bike Helmet won’t be raising any more.

We called her Bike Helmet because of the shape of the feathers on her head. This may have been caused by a previous encounter with a cat. This time, the outcome was fatal.

This particular black cat has been plaguing our garden for over a year. Last year, it was responsible for a string of kills. Since then we have put in defences and they have had some success. The blue tits that abandoned their nest last year were successful this spring after I put a spiked collar around the tree.

If the killing continues I’ll have to reinforce the defences. But why should I have to do this? Why should our enjoyment be spoilt and the wildlife killed by marauding cats?

The answer, it seems, comes out of research just published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. This studied the predation by cats and the views of their owners in two villages: one in Cornwall and one in Scotland.

Despite the high death toll recorded, cat-owners failed to perceive the magnitude of their cats’ impacts on wildlife and disagreed that they were harmful to wildlife.

So cat-owners are in denial and need educating. If they continue to let their charges rampage around the neighbourhood they can only be described as selfish, irresponsible, anti-social eco-terrorists.

Clive Mowforth

Kingshill

Dursley