Why this green box might be able to solve the feral cat problem

Nestled among the mangroves in Melbourne’s south-east is an island that’s home to one of the largest koala communities in the country. Potoroos jump around as white-breasted sea eagles, mutton birds and pelicans soar across the skies.

The island’s native animal population is beginning to again thrive due to a $2.2 million dollar project to rid the island of feral cats, which Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says kill six million native animals a year.

Feral cats are one of the biggest threats to endangered animals across the world. Credit: Elizabeth Znidersic, Julie Trezise and Michael Johnston

Ridding small islands of feral predators is crucial to efforts to save native wildlife because once they are cleared they stay free of the killers, and authorities can then shift their resources to new areas.

The islands can be used as refuges for threatened native animals from the mainland until their ecosystems have been made safe. But killing the last few cats from each island has always proved particularly difficult.

The survivors of a cull are by nature the most difficult to catch – which is where a fiendishly clever device called the Felixer comes in. Shooters are expensive and air-drops of poisons can kill non-target animals.

The Felixer, developed by Thylation, uses four sensors and an artificial intelligence camera to identify cats and foxes from non-target wildlife and humans, before spraying them with a dose of toxic gel called 1080.

The gel is shot out at 50 metres per second, and does not hurt the fox or cat when it lands. The pest licks the toxin when it cleans itself. Ensuring the technology was as humane as possible has been crucial, says Thylation founder Dr John Read.

“Most people who are involved in conservation are passionate about it because they care about animals: that is my motivation,” Read said.

“If the Felixer or 1080 use on cats was cruel, we wouldn’t be doing it. We want to have the best outcomes for the wildlife whilst minimising any adverse impacts.”

But due to political opposition by those in Victoria, including the Animal Justice Party, Felixers are banned on French Island. Instead, they have just been allowed to monitor and photograph the ongoing slaughter of natives by cats.

Last year, Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell asked then Victoria minister for agriculture Gayle Tierney if she could confirm 1080 would not be used on feral cats.

Tierney said the use of 1080 on feral cats would not be part of the state’s feral cat management plans, which are due to be released soon.

“In terms of anything that is approved nationally, we obviously need to consider what the implications might be in terms of Victoria – making sure that we have got some sort of eye on technological advancement as well as balancing that with animal welfare considerations.”

Purcell told this masthead that her party would continue pushing for the government to ban the use of 1080 on other pests, raising concerns of secondary poisoning in animals that consume the bodies of target species.

She added that alternative methods, such as desexing, could be used instead.

All other states, territories and several islands use the Felixer and 1080 meat baits on feral cats. Felixers have also been registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority for feral cat management in Australia.

Instead, Victoria relies on cage traps and detection dogs for feral cat management on crown land.

A Victorian government spokesperson said it was considering how best to enable the use of the Felixer. The spokesperson confirmed the state was not considering the use of 1080.

A recent report by the Victorian government said while Felixers would be ideal in eradicating cats on islands, it did not support the registration of the devices with 1080 poison as the toxin due to concerns about possible non-target impacts. However, the state does allow the use of 1080 on other feral animals.

The Invasive Species Council’s advocacy manager, Jack Gough, worries that current measures in Victoria are a half-hearted effort to reduce feral cat numbers.

“We know on other island eradication projects, on say Christmas Island and Kangaroo Island, if you are to be successful we need all the tools in the toolbox. That includes the use of the innovative Felixers,” Gough said.

“We are concerned that if the Victorian government does not change its mind on this issue, then eradication of feral cats on French Island will not be possible and the consequence of that will be the deaths of our native species.”

Gough added that while it was “never nice” to talk about killing animals, the use of 1080 was the most effective method available, and without any other alternatives, a delayed rollout would result in feral animal populations booming at the expense of native animals.

“We are concerned the government is not showing the political courage needed to that [this issue] on,” he said.

On French Island, feral cat estimates are between 10 and 50. Many hope the Felixer, used alongside other cat eradication methods, would finally help rid the island of its pests.

Australia is a world leader in wildlife losses. Since colonisation, about 100 of the country’s unique flora and fauna species have become extinct, with untold losses of invertebrates. The rate of loss has not slowed over the past 200 years.

Feral animals such as wild cats and foxes are key drivers of native wildlife losses, along with habitat loss through land-clearing and development.

For conservation groups and state and federal governments, how best to deal with feral cats remains a big question, and an expensive one.

Many use the Felixers alongside other cat management or eradication tools. The island of Lungtalanana, also known as Clark Island, in Tasmania, rolled out the Felixer after running trials late last year.

Coordinator of Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre land management and Palawa man Andry Sculthorpe said they are yet to collect the data, but he’s hopeful the Felixer will help tackle the remaining 80 to 90 cats on the island, particularly in difficult-to-access areas.

Once cats have been eradicated, the Indigenous community could use the area as a refuge for threatened species. Without increased funding for the use of other cat eradication methods, however, it would be difficult to achieve this, he said.

“No one likes to use poison, but sometimes there is a time and a place to use it responsibly,” Sculthorpe said.

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