Environment Minister Matt Kean vows to ‘wipe out’ feral cats
They hunt and kill as many as 2600 animals every minute, but the days of feral cats stalking our national parks are numbered. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal plans to film wild cats in nine locations across NSW as part of an eradication program.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The secret lives of feral cats will be filmed by hidden cameras using facial recognition as part of a five-year, $30 million project to eradicate the wildlife killers.
Capable of identifying individual cats, the cameras will be rolled out at nine locations across the State’s national parks so researchers can establish a line-up of “locals”.
The results will be used to finetune the existing cat culling methods of aerial and ground baiting, trapping and shooting
With cats able to adapt to life in both the desert and the alps, they are blamed for Australia having the worst mammal extinction record in the world, with researchers estimating they kill about 2600 animals every minute, in particular vulnerable smaller animals.
Injured animals that do escape the clutches of a feral cat may still die from toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the toxoplasma gondii parasite that is prevalent in feline populations.
The University of New England and the State government project, one of the biggest investments in tackling the feral cat problem, will provide a “window into the forest” to help study the habits of feral cats and better estimate their numbers.
MORE FROM LINDA SILMALIS
Gangs warring inside state’s juvenile prisons
Baby-faced killer ‘exhausted’ from daily sex in prison
National Parks and Wildlife Service biologist Andrew Claridge has found everything from reptile scales to ringtail possums in cat guts.
“From camera traps we have seen cats carrying feather-gliders, eastern pygmy possums and bandicoots in their mouths,” he said.
“We cannot just sit back and be complacent. Cats do have a place in this world, but not a place where you are hoping to maintain and conserve endangered animals.”
With feral cats targeting endangered species such as southern brown bandicoots, authorities are racing against time.
“There are only two remnant populations of the bandicoot left in NSW — the Sydney one has not many at all while there are just a few hundred in southern NSW,” he said.
In the past rangers have been attacked by people trying to protect the cats, so the State government, which has provided $14.6 million towards the project, is keeping the camera locations secret.
Environment Minister Matt Kean said the final aim was to eradicate feral cats.
“Once our endangered species are gone, that’s it. More than ever, now is the time we need to ask what legacy do we want to leave our kids,” he said.
“This project is a key part to protecting that legacy — saving our native animals by tackling the feral cat crisis.
“This is the largest-ever single commitment to eradicating these killers in the history of NSW.
“My focus is to wipe out feral cats. They’re one of the worst and most destructive pests and they need to be eradicated.”
Originally published as Environment Minister Matt Kean vows to ‘wipe out’ feral cats
Join the conversation
Wakeley stabbing Bishop slams Labor’s misinformation bill
A controversial Sydney church where a priest was allegedly stabbed over his political and religious opinions has blasted the Albanese government’s new misinformation bill.
Read more
Almost 500 new homes to be built over Sydney Olympic Metro
Almost 500 new homes will be built on the new Sydney Olympic Park Metro precinct with major construction set to begin after the site was finally approved by the NSW government.
Read more