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Some parts of Iceland are playing cat curfew – which would punish owners who fail to keep their cats indoors at night – or even outright bans on allowing cats outdoors.
The city of Akureyri approved an open ban earlier this year, but later changed the proposal to a curfew overnight after complaints.
Egil Byarnason, a writer and journalist from Reykjavik, says the proposals are partly because stray cats are increasingly seen as an inconvenience by many Icelanders who don’t like cats. He added that some people were also concerned about the environmental chaos that experienced hunters could cause on bird and wildlife populations.
This is a change in the way cats have been valued in the country. Dogs have historically been considered farm animals, which means that cats have been a widely preferred pet for decades, until the 1980s. Although there are fewer fluffy examples of prominent cats in Icelandic culture. Every year a giant statue of the July Cat is erected in Reykjavik. Folklore says that the animal roams the countryside, looting people during the Christmas period.
Bjarnason and Ronja at home. He is currently keeping her indoors to protect the birds nesting in his garden. (Submitted by Egill Bjarnason)
Byrnason and his family got a cat named Ronya during the pandemic. Although he is a big fan of animals in general, he quickly realizes that Ronya is a “complete threat” to all living things.
He spoke to Matt Galloway of The Current about how much Icelanders still love their cats but struggle with some antisocial behavior in cats. Here is part of their conversation.
Why is Iceland as positive as a cat, if I may say so?
Well, cats are great, that’s the short answer. Another thing is that dogs have been banned in Reykjavik for a very long time. We considered them to be farm animals. And so until 1985, Reykjavik [had not] allowed dogs as pets. So, you know, a lot of people just grew up with cats.
In the face of this whole feline holiday and feline positivity, there is an impetus to get cats out of the streets. What’s wrong with cats in Iceland right now? Why do people lobby against cats in the open?
I think two things happened. During the pandemic, many people got a cat and invited the cat into their home.
And [secondly] the idea of banning cats outside has simply spread to some people who believe it is the right thing to do.
Many people have their own thoughts, but in a recent article I wrote, I looked at it from an environmental point of view.
Statue of the July Cat in Reykjavik. In folklore, the monster cat eats people at Christmas. (Halldor Kolbeins / AFP via Getty)
What is this ecological point of view?
Well, domestic cats are rarely part of an ecosystem. Despite thousands of years of domestication, cats still prefer food at 38 C, the temperature of fresh blood. They are murderers.
I also had a cat during the pandemic [realized] in a difficult way how much damage they can do to the lives of birds.
Cats are responsible for the extinction of at least 63 species worldwide … and if you think about the numbers they hunt every year, these are the billions of birds that domestic cats hunt. The largest species of human-induced bird mortality is from domestic cats. They kill more than, you know, buildings and cars.
So in Iceland, which loves cats, how does the idea that cats are killers and we should keep cats away on the streets and indoors come about?
Many people are now arguing about curfew for cats, whether it’s evening or total [outdoor] curfew for cats. And, you know, the debate doesn’t necessarily take into account that they are damaging birds’ lives, and also that people see them as an inconvenience.
It was an election issue in a city in Iceland. Can you tell me briefly about this?
In the city of Akureyri, which is the largest city outside Reykjavik or the capital, they decided to ban [outdoor] cats entirely from 2025
And then they had to bring him back, because there were a lot of objections. There were people across the country protesting against the ban on behalf of cats. And saying … that they should be allowed to wander outside, as they have done since the country was established.
And finally, before the local elections that had just taken place, they decided to change this ban to evening curfew. So from 10 pm to morning.
Byrnason said many people in Iceland consider stray cats a nuisance, but they also pose a threat to wildlife. (Submitted by Egill Bjarnason)
And in this election, there was a feline party running. Is this true?
There was a local artist named Snorri Ásmundsson who ran for leader of the Cat Party. And he said, in fact, that if elected, he would allow a cat named Reykjavik to take his place in the local parliament.
But he wasn’t elected in part because, you know, his cause was kind of ruined … by easing the ban.
You said you had a cat during the pandemic?
Yes. I have a cat who is with me here and looks at me like a mob boss. So I’m very careful what I say.
She was a complete threat and I keep her inside now that we have a nesting season. I have a lot of backyard birds and I like to have it that way.
Ronya has the aforementioned “cat lawyer” for speed dialing, writing a letter to the editor of Hakai magazine. pic.twitter.com/K7GNY5I2LK
– @ egillegill
She was a cat in the open when we took her, but now she will have to stay inside.
I tried to tell her that indoor cats live up to four times longer. But she’s trying to upload more to prove me wrong.
Written by Padreig Moran. Manufactured by Camilla Baines. Questions and answers were edited for length and clarity.
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