Plan to trap feral cats to save native animals in Campbelltown council area
RESIDENTS will be able to trap feral cats to stop them killing and injuring local wildlife under a new scheme by an Adelaide council.
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RESIDENTS will be able to trap feral cats to stop them killing and injuring local wildlife under a new Campbelltown Council scheme.
The council last week agreed to allow residents to hire its possum traps to catch feral cats roaming the streets at night.
Councillor Rob Tidd, who suggested the traps be used for cats, said they were a major problem.
“Each feral cat kills up to 1000 native animals a year,” Cr Tidd told last week’s council meeting.
“A few weeks ago, I found a bird had been slaughtered on my porch, so I got a cat trap and I did the right thing and took it to the Animal Welfare League.
“This isn’t about being anti cats, this is actually about protecting domestic cats and doing something about the feral cats.”
Under the council’s scheme, residents must take a trapped cat to the Animal Welfare League in Wingfield or the RSPCA in Lonsdale within 12 hours of capture.
Cr Tidd said the council had received “many” inquiries about whether it offered cat traps, but staff did not keep statistics on the number of requests.
Fellow councillor and cat owner Marijka Ryan feared “cat haters” would use the traps to catch pets that may have slipped outside at night.
“I am concerned that anyone in the neighbourhood who doesn’t like cats will go for any cat in the area and then plead ignorance when they catch a domestic cats,” Cr Ryan said.
Newton Vet Centre principal Geoff Brown said the traps were a humane way to deal with feral cats.
“The only issue is with potentially catching domestic cats, so you’d need to check they haven’t been tagged,” Dr Brown said.
“But from a humane point of view, it’s fine.”
RSPCA South Australia’s animal welfare advocate Rebekah Eyers said traps should be set somewhere sheltered from sun, wind and rain.
Dr Eyers said the RSPCA would check to see if it was a feral cat or a microchipped pet.
Under state legislation, cats identified by vets as being genuinely feral are unable to be rehomed.
“If unowned, (the cat) will be assessed in terms of condition, temperament and injury and a decision made in relation to its suitability for rehoming,” Dr Eyers said.
The traps cost $21 for two weeks, with a $100 bond, and $15 for a two-week extension.
