Stories

Feral cats' impact on our threatened native species

Sunday, July 17, 2022

by Toni Pankaluic

Pet cats are great companions, however are you aware free-range, stray and feral cats are responsible for billions of native animal deaths across Australia? Thatʻs right BILLIONS!

They're a big part of why Australia now holds the embarrassing title of having the worst modern mammalian extinction record of any country in the world.

So, what can we do to address and mitigate feline threats to our native wildlife?

Joining 4ZZZ's Eliot and Toni to chat about feral cats is Professor Sarah Legge a wildlife ecologist from Australian National University, who has carried out research on cat impacts and ways of reducing those impacts for many years.

For a deep dive...

Visit the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub website to learn about the feral cat project. Or you can find out about Professor Sarah Legge's feral cat research and publications on her profile page.

To learn about responsible cat ownership to prevent your pets from harming native species, read this factsheet for best practises. For an understanding about the importance of managing cat populations, watch the 'Caring for Country' animation video.

Click here to learn how cat management practices are conducted by a local government in Australia.

Cats, urban or feral, have wide-ranging impacts in Australia on many different levels. To understand these various impacts, here are either a text or visual version depending on your preference:

Agriculture (Text / Video)

Australian Wildlife (Text / Video)

Human Health (Text / Video)

Finally there is an online petition calling on the Australian Government to protect wildlife from feral cats.

Toni Pankaluic

Toni Pankaluic is a Journalist and contributor to Brisbane Line

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