Management Info

Cats were first domesticated in Egypt around 2000 BC (Serpell 1988, in Coleman. 1997, in Brickner 2003) and brought to Britain by 300AD by the Romans. European colonists introduced them around the globe (Coleman. 1997, in Brickner 2003). As cats are often revered as pets in our society this raises the moral dilemma of how to handle them when they have become a threat to native wildlife. Brickner (2003) suggests that animal rights organisations that condemn cat control via killing are over-looking the approximately 275 million animals killed by 9 million cats in Britain alone (Woods. in press). Obviously there are two quite different situations for management of the species, depending on the status of the cat: one is where a cat is a domesticated household pet and the other is when a cat has gone wild or feral and has no owner to protect and feed it.\r



When a cat is a pet, there are a number of ways in which to help prevent damage caused to wildlife. Brickner (2003) suggests keeping a cat in at night, fitting it with a bell, neutering the animal when it is young and giving it toys. However, the divided results of several investigations shows that the positive outcome of such actions is uncertain. Barrette (1998) found that fitting cats with bells has no significant effect on the amount of prey caught, whereas Ruxton et al. (2002) found that equipping cats with bells reduced prey delivery rates by about 50% (in Brickner 2003). Woods, McDonald and Harris (2003) found that the number of birds and herpetofauna brought home by cats was significantly lower in households that feed birds (but the number of actual different types of bird species killed was greater in households that feed birds). The number of mammals brought home per cat was lower when cats were equipped with bells or kept indoors at night, however, the number of herpetofauna brought home was greater when cats were kept in at night. The outcome of this is that there appears to be a subjective choice to be made as to whether it is more important to protect herpetofauna or mammals. Obviously, if the mammals being caught are introduced species, such as rats and mice, this raises another dilemma. \r



In the second situation, when a cat is feral and threatening wildlife, a more severe means of controlling cats appears justified. In 1992 the Australian Parliament passed the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992, which obligates the commonwealth to provide a Threat Abatement Plan (TAP) for each listed threatening process, including one for feral cats (Brickner 2003). The key objectives of the feral cat TAP are: eradicate feral cats from islands where they threaten vulnerable native animals; prevent feral cats from occupying new islands where they may be a threat to native communities; promote the recovery of species threatened by feral cats; improve the effectiveness and humaneness of cat control methods and improve the understanding of the impacts of feral cats on native animals. The use of visual lures (such as feathers and cotton wool) and attractants (such as tuna oil) are currently being tested in an effort to attract greater numbers of feral cats to traps and baits. The impact of feral cats on native wildlife is being studied in various parts of Australia in order to have it quantified (Brickner 2003).

Predation by feral cats was listed as a Key Threatening Process under the Federal Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. A Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats was produced in 1999 and amended in 2008 to promote the recovery of vulnerable and endangered native species and threatened ecological communities (Environment Australia 1999 and DEWHA 2008). A recently published review (Denny and Dickman (2010) assesses the efficacy of the methods used to estimate relative abundance of cats; describes currently used cat control methodologies; and discusses possible future directions for the control of cats in Australia. It also includes details of the current legislative framework that exists for cat control in Australia; describes the ecology of feral and stray cats exploiting various habitats. Please follow this link to view Denny E. A & C. R. Dickman 2010. Review of cat ecology and management strategies in Australia