No cats, dogs allowed in this neighborhood, all for the love of birds

Pet owners can add another item to their house shopping checklist, should the U.S. decide to follow a British strategy to protect its wild bird population. I love birds, but I also love our cats and would be rather put out to discover that my housing development prohibited cats and dogs.

That's the predicament faced by buyers of homes in a new British 450-house development in Farnsborough, about a half-hour's drive southwest of London.

The development, according to Times Online, is near heathland populated by wild birds. The 32-square miles is protected by the European Union Birds Directive, which requires member countries to create protection zones, maintain and restore habitats, and create biotropes. A total of 181 endangered species were given special protection.

I spoke by phone with Greg Butcher, Director of Bird Conservation for the Audubon Society, who confirmed that "cats and dogs can be a huge hazard to wildlife." However, he didn't feel this kind of ban was a reasonable way to deal with the problem, and wasn't aware of any such measures in the U.S.