I understand all of that and don't disagree, not even about cats. As I wrote in my comment above, I mean to point out the apparent lack of awareness. It wasn't

I understand all of that and don't disagree, not even about cats. As I wrote in my comment above, I mean to point out the apparent lack of awareness. It wasn't clear that the Audubon guide even knew mandarin ducks are not a native species. Whether they cause ecological damage or harm native duck species is another question. Sparrows and especially starlings have competed with native species. They are such successful species that they may have made their way to the New World on their own if humans hadn't introduced them. I lived in Portland for a long time. Once I was hiking with my son, on a trail with clear signs Stay On The Path and Dogs Must Be On Leash. We came across a woman off the trail, with her black Labrador off leash digging in the brush, tearing up a fern. I stopped to ask her to put her dog on a leash, and mentioned she should not be off trail damaging the plants. She was busy tearing down English ivy, and responded haughtily that she was doing that tree a favor. Besides her lack of awareness and virtue signaling it seemed she was doing more harm than good, and her off-leash dog, which no doubt never bit her, was barking at my young son and scaring him (which is why I stopped to ask her to leash her dog in the first place). I hesitate to call such people hypocrites, or to point out that all the pot growing in Oregon required clearing native trees and plants. I call that lack of awareness, and in some cases virtue signaling.