I don't care about behavioural problem in cats... as long as they are prevented from killing the wildlife.

 

Hi Gus.

Yes, I agree, although I wonder why we're picking on the cats when its people who have done a whole lot more to threaten the environment? 

Or is it yet just another diversion.

Cheers,

Jon.

but culling people is a bit of a problem... Cats are a big part of the problem, though...

Don't scapegoat cats

It is true that cats are one of the best species at adapting, killing and breeding if dumped in the bush ("Cats face 24-hour curfew to protect native animals", July 29). Show me a cat that bulldozes native vegetation for agriculture and housing estates, fragments bush land, builds roads and highways that change the watershed and topography of mountains, poisons waterways with phosphates and siltation, and creates moonscapes out of prime land.

Habitat and species loss is the fault of the creatures with the opposable thumb.

Clare Raffan Campsie

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/time-for-sydney-to-set-a-goodes-example-20150729-gimxpp.html#ixzz3hVjRjI6Y

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Killers in our midst

With apologies to Clare Raffan (Letters, July 30) cats are a major direct cause of reductions and extinctions of native wildlife. The federal government estimates there are some 18 million feral cats in Australia. Conservative estimates say each feral cat kills at least five native animals every day. At that rate feral cats are killing at least 32,850,000,000 native animals each year. Clearly the target of eradicating 2 million cats is vastly inadequate. It needs to be accompanied by strong laws and heavy fines for dumping unwanted cats and allowing cats to roam outside the house. And, of course, domestic cats must be de-sexed. So yes, the creatures with opposable thumbs are ultimately responsible for such species loss but cats are the perpetrators.

Geoff Wannan Dawes Point 

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/speakers-belated-apology-is-yet-more-spin-20150730-ginqst.html#ixzz3hVj1ZUOF

A small island off Tasmania's south-east coast that is known for its birdlife has taken another step towards becoming completely cat-free.

Bruny Island is about 100 kilometres long and is separated from Tasmania by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.

It supports the world's largest population of the endangered forty-spotted pardalote and about a third of the world's population of the swift parrot.

Kingborough Council, which includes Bruny Island, voted to explore strict new cat management measures in the Health and Environment Services Act at a council meeting last night.

If the community supports the cat management plan, it would eventually see domestic cats phased out.

The council will now begin consulting with residents about how to act on the new policy.

Council is proposing compulsory microchipping and de-sexing for pets, and a limit of two cats per household to be phased in.

Kingborough Mayor Steve Wass said some pet owners would need to be educated about proper cat control.

"I think it's a cultural change [for] people who always let their moggie out of a night and of course the cat might not come back for a couple of hours," he said.

"So we've got to educate people and just again remind them of what the cat can do.

"The cat is a tremendous killing machine and there are a lot of fauna out there that are at risk."

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-25/bruny-island-to-become-cat-free-with-strict-policies/6722622

 

British singer Morrissey is a seasoned animal rights advocate and, heaven knows, he’s now miserable about Australia’s plan to slaughter 2 million cats.

Morrissey has called an Australian government plan to cull feral cats “idiocy”, calling the animals smaller versions of Cecil the lion, the noted Zimbabwe-based predatorwho was shot by a US dentist in July, sparking outrage.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/02/morrissey-attacks-australian-plan-to-cull-2-million-feral-cats

-----------

Morrissey? You're not serious, are you? FERAL CATS ARE NOT NATIVE TO AUSTRALIA and the wildlife here is defenceless against these KILLERS.

2 million cats would be but the start of a cull which is necessary to keep the native animal population a notch above from being extinct. You're an idiot.

 

 

“Your country is sullied by the blood of millions of innocent animals so please, don’t add cats to this morbid record.”

The Australian government has now formally responded to Morrissey and Bardot through its threatened species commissioner, Gregory Andrews.

In letters seen by Guardian Australia, Andrews tells both: “I would like to commend you for your commitment to, and advocacy for, animals and their welfare.”

Andrews adds, however, that feral cats are an invasive species responsible for the extinction of at least 27 Australian mammals, such as the lesser bilby, desert bandicoot and large-eared hopping-mouse.

“We don’t want to lose any more species like these,” he wrote. “It is with this sentiment in mind that the Australian government has taken a stance on feral cats; for the protection of our native species that belong here.”

The government considers feral cats to be the greatest threat to Australia’s small mammals, birds and lizards, with 124 endangered species at risk from predation. There is a rough estimate of 20 million feral cats in Australia. Each kills at least five animals a day. The government plans to reduce this number by 2 million by 2020 through trapping, shooting and a new poison bait.

Andrews told Guardian Australia: “I never thought I’d write to Brigitte Bardot. It’s an unusual situation. I’m glad people like them care about animal welfare and I care deeply about animal welfare too.

“The threat to our wildlife are clear and feral cats are top of the list. We don’t hate cats but we don’t have a choice. We will do this as humanely as possible and we will reduce the net suffering of animals in Australia.”

Andrews said the RSPCA was involved in the process of the cull to ensure it was done humanely. He rejected Bardot’s argument that the feral cats could be desexed.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/14/australia-writes-morrissey-brigitte-bardot-defend-cull-feral-cats

 

As the world population of homo sapiens climbs, there could be a need to de-sex a few humans as well...

 

 

When Pintupi hunters from the Kiwirrkurra community in the Gibson Desert in central Australia catch a feral cat, they have two tasks. The first is to lop off a bit of the tail to give to Central Desert Native Title Services (CDNTS) in exchange for a $100 bounty.

The second is to cut out the stomach, which goes into a dedicated, rather stinky freezer to await the attentions of ecologist Rachel Paltridge, who sifts through the stomach contents in front of a crowd of interested locals on her regular visits to the community.

Paltridge is looking for clues for the cat’s distribution and hunting habits in the entrails, as well as any remnants of threatened species, such as the bilby.

Australia writes to Morrissey and Brigitte Bardot to defend plan to kill cats Read more

 

 

“We don’t often find any bilbies in cat stomachs in central Australia but that partly reflects the low numbers of bilbies in the area – we’d have to be lucky to get the one cat that ate a bilby,” Paltridge told Guardian Australia.

“Other threatened species like the great desert skink we find a bit more. But I am sure that they are eating bilbies – at least the young ones.”

Pintupi and other central desert tribes have been hunting feral cats for their meat for generations, but handing over their stomachs for science is a relatively new step. The CDNTS introduced the bounty for cats caught on Kiwirrkurra traditional lands last year to encourage the community to put more effort into the hunt.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/27/traditional-hunters-and-western-science-join-forces-in-the-fight-against-feral-cats

 

 

From Paul Sheehan, SMH

After our cat's first experience with hunting mice – the job it was born to do – it became more furtive. The next morning, instead of the usual nestling on the bed before breakfast, it gave croaking wails, demanding to be fed. It wanted no part of the bed ritual. (After I took numerous measures – he's locked in at night and wears a bell – to inhibit mouse hunting, he has returned to his normal affections.)

The journey from domestic cat to feral cat can be short. The toll feral cats take on marsupials, birds and reptiles is staggering. One frequently mentioned estimate is 70 million creatures killed by cats every day. Per day, not per year.

Every night, millions of small marsupials squeal in terror, unheard and unsaved, destroyed by useless, destructive predators that are a by-product of our gross mismanagement of the environment, which was far healthier before the advent of European settlement.

The prolonged suffering of the mice in my home hit me. As I held that first mouse in my hand, the one I could have saved, he gave one last sigh and died. I buried him in the back garden, with a heavy heart.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-fate-of-one-small-mouse-hints-at-a-huge-problem-for-australia-20160113-gm4ykv.html#ixzz3x9z9Vlno
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

In the movie, The Last Cab to Darwin, there is an eerie sequence at sunset when we are shown a tree from which the corpses of dead cats, shot or trapped, are hung. The locals have no qualms. They see the cats, feral cats, as a major pest — an introduced pest. But for the hundred feral cats hanged in than tree, there are are thousands roaming the bush destroying the native wildlife. There is an equilibrium somewhat. The more wildlife is killed, the less cats can survive... 
But wildlife is not just "one species". The vulnerable species become extinct, others become endangered. 
Domestic cats are killers in disguise. See toon and articles from top. Humans are not much better either, taking over territory and destroying habitats.

 

 

Cute, cuddly spaniels are becoming one of the best weapons in the Federal Government's war on feral cats.

The Office of Environment and Heritage and the Department of Environment are using the sniffer or "detector" dogs to help save endangered species, like the mountain pygmy possum.

The mountain pygmy only exists in two Australian alpine parks, and feral cats have been putting a major dent in the population.

Australia's Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews said the possums, which weigh just 45 grams when fully grown, were no match for cats.

According to Mr Andrews, snow in the mountain pygmy's habitat has been melting earlier in the season, meaning food for the animal has not been ready when they wake from hibernation, and cats have been able to target them when they are hungry and weak.

"They're knocking them off one-by-one as they wake up from hibernation," he said.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-23/sniffer-dogs-saving-endangered-mountain-pygmy-possums/7108200

 

Cats kill more than a million birds every day across Australia, according to our new estimate — the first robust attempt to quantify the problem on a nationwide scale.

By combining data on the cat population, hunting rates and spatial distribution, we calculate that they kill 377 million birds a year.

Rates are highest in Australia's dry interior, suggesting that feral cats pose a serious and largely unseen threat to native bird species.

This has been a contentious issue for more than 100 years, since the spread of feral cats encompassed the entire Australian mainland.

In 1906 the ornithologist AJ Campbell noted that the arrival of feral cats in a location often immediately preceded the decline of many native bird species, and he campaigned vigorously for action:

"Undoubtedly, if many of our highly interesting and beautiful birds, especially ground-loving species, are to be preserved from total extinction, we must as a bird-lovers' union, at no distant date face squarely a wildcat destruction scheme."

His call produced little response, and there has been no successful and enduring reduction in cat numbers since.

Nor, until now, has there been a concerted effort to find out exactly how many birds are being killed by cats.

read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/cats-killing-one-million-birds-in-...

Since 2015, more than 400 dead cats have been found in the city with their heads and tail removed, sparking fears of an unknown feline serial killer. 

Metropolitan Police launched Operation Takahe three years ago to coordinate an investigation into the deaths, following community concern and pressure from a local animal charity. 

Scotland Yard said media speculation about the "Croydon Cat Killer" or "M25 Cat Killer" resulted in dozens more allegations flooding in from members of the public.

Celebrities retweeted messages about missing cats and about the police investigation, while People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offered a £5,000 ($9,000) reward to catch the "cat ripper".

Over the course of the investigation, 25 post-mortem examinations were carried out on cats.

A veterinary pathologist determined the cause of death was typically blunt force trauma, such as collisions with cars, and that the mutilations had occurred after death.

"The investigation took almost three years, due to the number of reports and allegations received from the public and the need to work with specialists to scrutinise any evidence," Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

 

Read more:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-21/police-reveal-cause-of-hundreds-of...

 

Read from top.

Yippee!

A Sydney council's planned "cat ban" has fur flying as feline fans and critics debate the controversial idea.

Randwick Council in Sydney's south-east last week passed a motion that could see cats locked inside and owners fined if their pets "run free and defecate in public places".

The motion was introduced by Labor councillor Kathy Neilson — who was elected mayor the following night — and reportedly caused quite the stir in the chamber before getting majority support.

The council will establish a committee to consider measures including:

• Keeping cats inside and confined, especially at night;
• Higher registration fees; and,
• Penalties to owners for allowing their cats to run free or defecate in public places or neighbouring properties as already apply to dog owners.

Read more:http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-03/randwick-councils-cat-ban-idea-stirs-debate/10331946
Read from top.

 

In an article published by Le Parisien on the initiative of the Bardot Foundation, 76 associations denounced the "excesses and provocations of hunting" that are committed under the benevolent eye of the government and President Emmanuel Macron.

"That's enough!": 76 foundations and associations launched this appeal in Le Parisien published November 3, on the day of Saint-Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, "against the excesses and provocations of hunting," announced the Bardot Foundation, in this manifesto. The animal defenders denounce "cruel and morally unacceptable practices", but also "the evident disregard of elected officials in search of votes — and this is at the highest level of the State".

"What is exceptional is that 76 associations and foundations have all signed. It's extraordinary, this is the first time that there is such a passion against hunting" told Brigitte Bardot to AFP, as she is the spokesperson for these large and small signatory associations. "It's a great step against Macron!"

Among these signatories are the strongest animal defenders: Peta, L214, The 30 Million Friends Foundation, the League for the Protection of Birds, One Voice, the Wild Animal Protection League (Aspas) and even the SPA. These organizations are indignant "on top of 100 to 200 hunting accidents and 10 to 20 deaths each year, barbaric practices inflicting unacceptable suffering on the animals: badger digging, use of glue, crushing and strangling of passerines birds but also the 15 millions of farm animals released into the wild in order to be hunted like vermin"

 

Translation by Jules Letambour

 

Read more:

https://francais.rt.com/france/55096-gouvernement-macron-sont-genoux-dev...

 

Read from top.

 

"Our newest weapon is the Felixer Grooming Traps, which is a really high-tech machine that uses a series of lasers to identify cats from other species," she said. 

"How it works, if a cat walks past the machine it'll spray out a dose of poison as a gel, and then the cat as a compulsory groomer will run off, sit down under a tree, lick itself to clean itself, and it will get poisoned that way.

"So it's great because it's not dependent on the cat being hungry enough to eat a bait, and we think we just got our first cat kill with this trap recently."

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-11-26/last-feral-cat-on-west-island-due-to-indigenous-ranger-program/

 

read from top.

Bloodshed on behalf of the greylag geese: Brigitte Bardot, president of the foundation that bears her name, sends a scathing letter to the former ecologist who became Minister for the Ecological Transition [François de Rugy] and denounces a "serious, lamentable crime".

"Shame ! You should be ashamed of having usurped the function of Minister of Ecology for which you are of a pitiful and dangerous nullity and incompetence." In an open letter, the former actress converted into the defense of animals curry the action of the Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, François de Rugy.

What triggered the bloodshed of the 1960s muse is the extension of the hunt for migratory geese, which was originally scheduled to end on January 31 "in accordance with a European directive for the protection of migratory birds," says 20 Minutes. According to information from Orange.fr, "at the request of Emmanuel Macron", François de Rugy has just signed an order dated 30 January 2019, "relating to the authorized collection of the greylag goose, the laughing goose and of the harvest goose during the month of February 2019. "This text authorizes hunters to harvest 4,000 geese in February 2019.

Brigitte Bardot does not hear it that way and announces in her mail: "I seize the Council of State to break this decree", then she sums up her thoughts in the tweet by which she publishes the letter: "François de Rugy, you're just a cowardly assassin by proxy fighters."

She also insists that this "decree" goes "up to flouting European directives" and she calls for the "immediate dismissal" of the minister.

 

Read more:

https://francais.rt.com/france/58799-vous-etes-nullite-incompetence-pito...

 

 

Translation by Jules Letambour

 

 

Read from top.

There are an estimated three times as many feral cats in Victoria's Otways region than the national average, according to a new research from the University of Melbourne.

PhD candidate Matthew Rees from the School of Biosciences has placed 240 motion-sensing cameras at two sites in the western Otways region prior to and after the introduction of fox baiting in November 2017.

Mr Rees said he is measuring the impact of fox baiting and whether fewer foxes will result in more cats.

"If we take out foxes from the landscape which are a higher order predator than feral cats, they're bigger, bit scarier, what happens to the feral cats?"

It is estimated that feral cats kill 466 million reptiles and 272 million birds in Australia annually, with critically-endangered species like the mountain-pygmy possum, helmeted honeyeater, orange-bellied parrot and plains wanderer at particular risk.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-10/for-every-kilometre-you-walk-in-t...

Scientists are calling for a widespread cull of feral cats and dogs, pigs, goats, and rats and mice to save the endangered species they prey upon.

Their eradication on more than 100 islands could save some of the rarest animals on Earth, says an international team.

Islands have seen 75% of known bird, mammal, amphibian and reptile extinctions over the past 500 years.

Many of the losses are caused by animals introduced by humans.

Not naturally present on islands, they can threaten native wildlife. 

"Eradicating invasive mammals from islands is a powerful way to remove a key threat to island species and prevent extinctions and conserve biodiversity," said Dr Nick Holmes, from the group Island Conservation. 

More stories like this:

• Loss of British bees threatens food security

• Rare night parrot evidence disputed

• Smuggled orangutan seized at Bali airport

The study, published in PLOS ONE, identified 107 islands where eradication projects could benefit 9.4% of the Earth's threatened island species. 

The researchers argue the likes of feral cats are not of conservation concern, but the species they threaten are often found only on islands where the entire population is at risk of extinction.

 

Read more:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47721807

 

 

Read from top.

Cat owners on Bruny Island who continue to let their felines stray could be slapped with a $600 fine under tough new laws to crack down on wildlife killings and feral populations.

Key points:

• Kingborough Council passes new by-laws to help reduce the killing of wildlife
• Cat owners will have to register cats and have them de-sexed before six months of age
• Owners face $600 fines if they fail to comply

 

Every year in the Kingborough Council region in southern Tasmania, 180,000 native animals are killed by domestic cats alone.

The new laws will be exclusive to Bruny Island, which contains an estimated 2,000 feral cats, and be the toughest in Tasmania.

They include compulsory registration, de-sexing of domestic cats before six months of age, and a limit of two cats per household in the absence of a permit.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-12/bruny-island-introduces-strict-ne...

bruny island narrows (picture by Gus Leonisky)

Read from top.

Billions of native animals, including mammals and birds, are being killed by cats every year, research has found.

Key points:

• Feral cats are versatile predators which can prey on easily accessible animals in the right size range
• There is a misconception that feral cats help reduce the number of other feral animals
• A researcher says owners of domesticated cats would be surprised by the distances their pet can cover

 

The research, published in the new book, Cats in Australia: Companion and Killer, revealed each feral cat in the bush would kill about 740 animals per year.

Meanwhile, a domesticated cat would kill about 75 animals annually.

In total, the book's authors said cats would kill more than 3 million mammals, 2 million reptiles and 1 million birds every day.

The book is a compilation of key findings from hundreds of studies about cat management.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-15/cats-kill-billions-of-animals-eac...

 

Read from top.

...

But while the cats were now being targeted within the woodland, the cameras had identified another problem.

Most of the feral cats were not residing in the woodland, but were instead living and breeding on the surrounding farms and coming into the woodland to dine on the native animals.

"The problem with Dryandra is it is in a large area of farmland," Mr Lacey said.

"So you can control the animals on the reserve to a certain level, but if you are not controlling them off the reserve they come back in."

Farmers join the growing cat fight

Cameron Christensen and his son Daniel both live on properties near Dryandra.

They were among 50 property owners around Dryandra who decided to trap cats as part of the Farmers for Fauna project, a joint venture between DBCA and the Peel Harvey Catchment Council.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-22/numbats-and-woylies-flourish-at-d...

 

Read from top.

The annual Golden Raspberry Awards (known as Razzies on the streets) honours the very worst cinema has to offer and this year, Cats was the pick of the litter. 

If you've never heard of them, the Razzies were created in 1980 as an antidote to Hollywood's awards season. 

Nominees and winners are voted for online by more than 1,000 members from more than two dozen countries, who sign up online and pay a $40 membership fee.

The nominees were announced the day before the Oscars (you know, the awards Hollywood *actually* cares about) and now the winners have finally been announced. 

Here's how everything fared:

With a whopping SIX wins, Cats was by far the worst movie of 2019

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-17/cats-razzie-golden-raspberry-trav...

 

Read from top...

 

Gus hates cats...

A photo of a feral cat with a goanna in its jaws has been discovered accidentally by researchers.

Key points:

• A photo shows a feral cat carrying a sand goanna in the Simpson Desert
• It was captured inadvertently by cameras being used for carcass research
• Experts say it's not uncommon for feral cats to take larger animals

The image shows the feline carrying a sand goanna through the northern Simpson Desert at Ethabuka Reserve near the Queensland-Northern Territory border.

It was taken inadvertently by wildlife cameras being used to study decomposing animal carcasses.

University of Sydney researcher Emma Spencer said it was a stroke of luck.

"The cat with a goanna in its mouth was actually in the background," she said.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-25/feral-cat-sand-goanna-photo-outback-queensland/12275890

 

Read from top.

 

Several million cats later...

A Queensland grazier says trapping or placing a bounty on feral cats could help control their numbers.

Key points:

• A Federal inquiry into the impact of feral cats on native wildlife is underway
• Submissions have closed and virtual public hearings began this week

• Anyone with an interest in the subject is welcome to attend the hearings

A Federal parliamentary inquiry investigating the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia is reviewing the national approach. 

Rob Atkinson, who used to live on a property near Hughenden said trapping cats near water sources could be key in Western Queensland.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy chair and Fairfax MP Ted O'Brien said he was determined to find a way to wipe two million feral cats from the landscape.

He said the committee wasn't looking into "lasagne-loving, lazy cats like Garfield" but into predatory carnivores who hunted and killed native animals.

But, he said, both feral and domestic cats would be "looked at".

"We know that feral cats have been implicated in the extinction of around 20 animals," Mr O'Brien said.

"They threatened 124 of our listed threatened species." 

He said the committee would consider the best way to cull the animals and would take an "independent, sort of dispassionate look at it all".

"Baiting, certainly shooting — there's a whole bunch of other ways of trying to find humane means to kill cats," he said.

"It's not that everybody thinks that killings are the answer either.

"We're certainly receiving a wide, diverse range of views."

Inquiry not needed, grazier says

But Rob Atkinson, who lives on a small hay and cattle property near Goomeri in the Toowoomba region, said he did not see a need for an inquiry.

"Everyone who lives in the bush knows cats certainly have a big impact on our native wildlife, and I've always destroyed every cat I've seen, if I can," he said.

"I don't know if an inquiry is needed, because there's plenty of scientific proof out there.

"Studies that have been done on stomach content, and the rest, of wild cats that did plenty of damage."

 

 

Read more:

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-03/two-million-feral-cats-to-be-culled-in-australia/12620428

 

Read from top.

 

Get rid of the cats!...

Numbat numbers at a conservation site in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt are the highest recorded in decades, as feral cat eradication continues.

 

Key points:

• Endangered numbat numbers are on the rise in Dryandra Woodland
• The marsupial is only found in the wild in parts of Western Australia

• The populations of other native animals are also growing following a program to cut feral cat numbers

 

Scientists completing an annual numbat count at Dryandra Woodland were thrilled to record 35 numbats — the most since a survey in the 1990s recorded 36.

The figure was up from 10 last year and just five in 2018.

The woodland, about 160km south-east of Perth, near Narrogin, is home to the largest remnant of original vegetation in the Wheatbelt.

The rise in the population of numbats found at Dryandra is significant, as it is believed there are fewer than 1000 numbats left in the wild — that's less than the number of orangutans in Sumatra and giant pandas in Asia. 

Population has 'exploded'

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions research associate Tony Friend said it was an exciting result for the endangered marsupial.

"The population has exploded in the last year," Dr Friend said.

"It’s fantastic. We’ve had a long set of years where numbat numbers have been very low at Dryandra."

 

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-19/wa-numbat-numbers-soar-in-dryandra-as-feral-cats-culled/12900562

 

Read from top.

 

Kill a wild kat today...