Feral cats - DCCEEW
- ️Fri Dec 20 2024
Feral cats are an introduced predator in Australia. They kill over 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year. Predation by cats is a recognised threat to over 200 nationally threatened species, and 37 listed migratory species. Feral cats have contributed to the extinction of more than 20 Australian mammal species, including the pig-footed bandicoots, lesser bilby and broad-faced potoroo. They are a major cause of decline for many land-based threatened animals such as the bilby, bandicoot, bettong and numbat. Many native animals are struggling to survive so reducing the number killed by feral cats will assist their populations to grow.
Feral cats can also carry infectious diseases which can be transmitted to native animals, domestic livestock and humans.
Feral cats are the same species as domestic cats, however they live and reproduce in the wild and survive by hunting or scavenging. They are found all over Australia in all habitats, including forests, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and arid areas.
Feral cats are predominantly solitary and active at night (nocturnal), spending most of the day in the safety of a shelter such as a rabbit burrow, log or rock pile. They are carnivores, and generally eat live prey like small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects depending on their availability.
More information on feral cats:
- The impact of cats in Australia - fact sheet
Addressing the impacts of feral cats
Cat eating a crimson rosella
Copyright C Potter
In Australia, landholders and state and territory governments hold primary responsibility for on-ground management of established invasive species like feral cats.
At the national level, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) provides for the identification and listing of key threatening processes. A key threatening process is one that threatens or may threaten the survival, abundance or evolutionary development of a native species or ecological community. Predation by feral cats is listed as a key threatening process.
Once a key threatening process is listed under the EPBC Act a threat abatement plan can be put into place if it is considered to be 'a feasible, effective and efficient way' to abate the threatening process. Threat abatement plans identify the research, management and other actions needed to ensure the long-term survival of native species and ecological communities affected by the threat. These threat abatement plans provide the framework for coordinated and efficient national effort by identifying ambitious new actions and encouraging continued action. In doing so, they take a multi-pronged approach, presenting a comprehensive suite of the actions that, if implemented by the relevant identified parties, are expected to significantly improve threat abatement in the interests of threatened species recovery in Australia.
More information about threat abatement plans:
Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats
The 2024 Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats is the fourth threat abatement plan under the EPBC Act for the predation by feral cats key threatening process. Its development was informed by the review of the 2015 threat abatement plan and the latest science. Public consultation was undertaken on the draft updated plan from September to December 2023. The department received 1,628 responses through the public consultation and carefully considered these in preparing the final updated plan.
The EBPC Act allows for threat abatement plans to be jointly made with interested states and territories. The Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia and Victoria have joined the Commonwealth to jointly make the 2024 feral cat threat abatement plan. This is the first time a threat abatement plan has been jointly made. This coordination is an important step in more effectively reducing the impact of this threat on imperilled species and ecosystems.
Feral cat projects
The Australian Government provides funding for projects to manage the threat posed by feral cats. Many of these projects also support other activities that help to recover threatened species, such as tree planting and fire management. This information is correct as at 16 August 2024. New projects may be published on the Saving Native Species program and Natural Heritage Trust webpages.
Feral Cat Taskforce
The Feral Cat Taskforce is a national advisory, coordinating and informal oversight group tasked with providing information and support to the Threatened Species Commissioner and the department on implementing the feral cat actions and targets in the Threatened Species Action Plan. Members include the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, non-government organisations and key feral cat researchers.
More information about the Feral Cat Taskforce:
National declaration: feral cats as pests
At the Meeting of Environment Ministers (Melbourne, 15 July 2015), Ministers endorsed the National declaration of feral cats as pests.
Inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia
The Australian Parliament conducted an inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia in 2020, with reference to the prevalence of feral and domestic cats in Australia; the impact of feral and domestic cats including on native wildlife and habitats; and the effectiveness of current legislative and regulatory approaches. The Committee tabled its report on 4 February 2021.
- Tackling the feral cat pandemic: a plan to save Australian wildlife
- Australian Government response to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy report: Tackling the feral cat pandemic.
Controlling feral cats
Control tools available for feral cats are shooting, trapping, fencing, baiting and a grooming trap.
Control of feral cats is challenging as they are found in very low densities over large home ranges and are shy, making them difficult to locate. They are also extremely cautious in nature.
Shooting cats is labour intensive and requires a lot of skill. Trapping of feral cats using cage traps is permitted everywhere in Australia and trapping using soft-jawed leg-hold traps is permitted in some states and territories. There are best practice standard operating procedures for shooting and trapping.
Predator-proof fenced areas, or ‘safe havens’, are an effective way to control feral cat impacts (in restricted areas), as is the eradication of feral cats from offshore islands. Safe havens can be costly and require ongoing biosecurity measures so their establishment needs to be carefully considered.
The most effective form of feral cat control over large areas is poison baiting.
Poison baits intended for feral cats must be laid on the ground (as cats, unlike other feral species such as foxes, will not dig up a buried bait).
There are two types of bait currently available for use in Australia — Curiosity® and Eradicat®.
Curiosity®: the Australian Government led the $7 million project to develop the Curiosity® bait for feral cats. The Curiosity® bait for feral cats is a small meat-based sausage containing a small hard plastic pellet encapsulating a humane toxin. It is designed to minimise the risk of native animals being poisoned by a low dose of the toxin and a design to minimise uptake of the hard plastic pellet.
- Curiosity® bait for feral cats - information about Curiosity® bait for feral cats and how licenced users can obtain baits for use.
Eradicat® bait for feral cats is only for use in Western Australia. This bait comprises a small meat-based sausage injected with a synthetic toxin known as 1080 which replicates a naturally-occurring poison found in some plant species in Western Australia. Many native animals in the region have developed resistance to this toxin. In some parts of Australia, the Eradicat® and Curiosity® baits may present a significant hazard to wildlife species.
We are developing a third bait for feral cats called Hisstory® that is designed to minimise this hazard.
The Felixer™ grooming trap is a novel and automated tool to help control feral cats and foxes. The traps use artificial intelligence to distinguish target cats and foxes from non-target animals and sprays target species with a measured dose of toxic gel. The solar-powered Felixer™ can hold 20 sealed cartridges of toxic gel and automatically resets after firing. Felixers™ photograph all animals detected (including non-target animals that are not fired upon) and can be programmed to play a variety of audio lures to attract feral cats and foxes.
FeralCatScan - Free app
Record feral cat activity
Have you seen a feral cat recently? Record feral cat management activities, including feral cat sightings, eradication and impacts on native species via FeralCatScan – a free app available for download onto iPhone and Android devices.