The need for an effective cat management strategy

From the GBSAN column in WarwickStanthorpe Today 6 July 2023

Domestic and feral cats are estimated to kill over 300 million native birds and animals in Australia every year. Recent research has shown that 71 per cent of pet cats in Australia were able to roam and that 78 per cent of those cats hunted. It also showed that those cats did not bring home 85 per cent of the animals they killed, making it difficult to monitor their impacts and allowing their owners to mistakenly think they were not impacting local wildlife.

Despite receiving federal funding to develop a cat management strategy in 2020, the Southern Downs Regional Council has failed to endorse effective measures to deal with the problem.

The majority of people who participated in a survey associated with the development of this strategy, as well as those who responded to the draft strategy, were in favour of stricter controls for domestic cats.

Many councils throughout Australia have adopted strategies such as registration, compulsory de-sexing, curfews and confinement to the owner's property as well as actions to try to reduce the numbers of feral cats. Some have even gone so far as to prohibit cat ownership in areas of high conservation significance. Unfortunately, our council has adopted none of these measures despite ample evidence to show the adverse impacts cats are having on our native wildlife.

Research shows that confined cats live longer and healthier lives and are less likely to suffer from road accidents, dog attacks and fights with other felines apart from reducing the nuisance they can cause to neighbours.

If it is serious about protecting our wildlife, the council needs to enact effective cat management strategies. At the very least, this should include compulsory registration and de-sexing and confinement to the owner's property. Ideally, it should also include a concerted effort to deal with feral cats, particularly at council dumps and waste transfer stations Community education programs to highlight the impacts of cats and how to encourage responsible cat ownership should be an essential component of such strategies.