The Australian government promotes Australia as a modern country and tourist heaven. Australia has a sterling reputation in the U.S. and it is a very popular tourist destination. We are urged to think of it as "the Wonderland Down Under." The reputation and the nickname are undeserved, when one considers the Australian government's treatment of feral cats.
We owe it to our cat-loving friends down under to give them every assistance possible to stop the carnage promulgated by their government.
Australia is exterminating its feral cat population, on the pretext that cats are destroying endangered species. In reality, the only endangered thing there is humanity -- which is in pitifully short supply all over the Pacific Rim. Australia's estimated 12 million feral cat population did not spring up overnight; the problem has been worsening for decades...but no one cared one way or the other about these cats until someone proposed the concept that cats were responsible for the near-extinction of certain species. (And I have seen no study that concludes this to be true, including studies by the Australian government.) Now, cats are being practically demonized there. But don't take my word for it, there are plenty of resources on this page that'll give you the information straight from the horse's mouth . Quoting directly from the Australian government page, Feral Cat:
- Their numbers can be reduced by trapping, shooting or poisoning. They can be caught in cage traps. A fish-based pet food is recommended for baiting traps. Live-trapping requires considerable effort and often much time, but any non-target animals caught can be released. Trapped feral cats are difficult to handle and should be shot while still in the trap.
Feral cats may be located and shot at night using a spot light and a high powered rifle (or a shotgun at short range). Poisoning campaigns for rabbits, foxes, dingoes or feral pigs sometimes kill feral cats. They are highly susceptible to 1080 and may be killed by eating baits or by scavenging on the carcasses of poisoned target animals. In Western Australia, feral cats may be poisoned with manufactured 1080 Feral Cat Baits (4 g baits containing 6 mg of 1080). The use of these baits is restricted and each application needs the permission of the Chief Executive Officer of the Agriculture Protection Board or of his deputy.
It has often been suggested that feline influenza be introduced into the feral cat population as a means of control. In eastern Australia it has been shown that many feral cats already have antibodies to this in their blood (13). These animals would be immune and would be unlikely to die from a subsequent infection of the virus. Transmission rates of feline influenza virus are also low and it is more likely to affect domestic rather than feral cats. The greater population density of domestic cats in urban areas would provide better conditions for the spread of the disease. The use of feline influenza virus is opposed by health authorities.
This is only the beginning. It gets worse.
Below, the highlights of a one-hour search online of Australia's government pages:
Search the Australian government's web site -- enter "feral cat," you'll get tons of stuff.
History and Ecology of Feral Cats
The Australian Online (paper)
Australian Animal Archive
Australian Related Sites
Survey of the population characteristics and hunting behaviour of the domestic cat in Australia
Australian Search Engine
Articles on the subject of Australia's plans for ferals, found online.
Australia urged to wipe out its cats[by government]~Reuters
The Great Australian Cat Dilemma
Feral Cats Pose Threat to Native Mammals and Birds
What the government is doing.
