Australia: Feral cats threaten native species

Of the many animals such as pigs, horses, hares and foxes that European settlers brought to Australia on their ships in the 18th century, it was cats that caused the greatest harm to native species .

According to the Ministry of the Environment, they contributed to the extinction of 27 mammal species and have put a further 124 species at risk. Since the arrival of the first settlers in 1788, the continent has permanently lost 34 endemic species — the highest rate in the world, says scientist Sarah Legge of the Australian National University in Canberra.

Australia, with an area of nearly 7.7 million square kilometres, has a population of only 25 million people. In addition to feral cats, estimated to number between 2 and 6.3 million, there are approximately 3.9 million domestic cats.

100 endangered species

In 2015, the Australian government pulled the emergency brake, declared feral cats a plague, and took drastic measures: by 2020, two million feral cats were to be killed. The goal: to save more than 100 already severely depleted species found only in Australia from extinction — including birds, frogs, grasshoppers, turtles, beetles and crustaceans. Since then, rangers in national parks have been deploying poison baits and traps to tackle the unwelcome four-legged animals, while hobby hunters and farmers on their own land are reaching for their rifles.

«Feral cats are the number one threat and they are everywhere", says Andrew Cox, a member of the government-led National Feral Cats Taskforce, which oversees measures against the not-so-cute cats. "If you don't control the cats, you will lose all small and medium-sized Australian mammals.»

One million dead birds every day

More than one million native birds fall victim to cats every day, as a study published in the journal «Biological Conservation» in 2017 found. «The number is even higher for reptiles — around 650 million die each year due to cats», says scientist Legge.

These figures are based on a study published by the journal «Wildlife Research» in 2018. For the study, researchers examined the diet of 10’000 cats across the country. In the stomach of a single animal, they found a record number of 40 lizards. In a recently published book, co-author Legge puts the total number of reptiles, birds and mammals killed by domestic and feral cats at two billion per year.

Also Spreading Disease

Cats don’t only act as predators that kill and eat their prey, as Legge points out. As hosts for parasites, they also spread diseases such as toxoplasmosis. And they themselves have few natural enemies «down under» — only dingoes, foxes and wedge-tailed eagles.

According to experts, no cats existed in Australia and the Oceanic region until the first settlers arrived at the end of the 18th century. «It took them the next 20 to 30 years to establish a foothold in the Sydney area», recounts Legge. Within the following 100 years, they were already found across almost the entire continent. Among their «victims» are native species such as rabbit-rats and hopping mice, which are now extinct. The pig-footed bandicoot was also lost forever to the fifth continent at the hands of the predator cat.

Animal Welfare Advocates Show Understanding

Since the hunting of feral cats was opened, Australia’s government has published only one interim report to date. According to it, an estimated 211’000 of these four-legged animals were killed in 2016, the first year of the offensive.

Even from animal welfare advocates there is little resistance to the campaign. The animal rights organisation PETA sees the necessity of controlling the feral cat population, said spokeswoman Aleesha Naxakis.

However, the methods should be chosen carefully. «Whether cat or kangaroo, all animals share the same desire to live and exist without pain. We owe it to them to find humane solutions to reduce their numbers.» As an effective solution, she advocates for sterilisation campaigns.