A popular Korean wildlife YouTuber has reignited a long-standing debate over stray cats after arguing that euthanasia is necessary to reduce their population and protect native wildlife. The controversy began after YouTuber Korean Birder, known for content about Korean wildlife and ecosystems and followed by roughly 500,000 subscribers, uploaded a video on Saturday titled “Cats, we have no choice but to kill them now.” The video opens with footage of cats on Mara Island, a small island off Korea’s southern coast, hunting a Crested Murrelet, a protected seabird designated as a Natural Monument and classified as an endangered species in Korea. The YouTuber argued that the problem extends far beyond Mara Island and has become a nationwide ecological issue, claiming that stray and feral cats are harming vulnerable wildlife across the country. He also criticized current cat management policies, including shelter placement, adoption programs and trap-neuter-return efforts, in which stray cats are captured, sterilized and released back into the wild. “Current policies being implemented in Korea
