WA MP Reece Whitby bitten by possum during feral cat conference

Reece Whitby was announcing the Cook government’s plans to stop feral cats when a possum decided to chomp on his finger.

They say in show business one should never work with children or animals.

Western Australian MP Reece Whitby probably agrees it’s the same for politicians, after a possum bit his finger during a media conference.

Seven News cameras were on hand to capture the moment possum Kaya bit the finger of WA MP Reece Whitby. Picture: Seven News.

Speaking on Wednesday morning in the northern Perth suburb of Woodvale, the state’s Environment Minister was unveiling new measures as part of the Labour government’s five-year strategy to stamp out the feral cat menace.

The animals prey on native wildlife like Kaya the possum, who was brought out at the conference for a picture with Mr Whitby.

Mr Whitby holds up his finger for the cameras, laughing off the incident before Kaya's embarrassed handler. Picture: Seven News.

But it’s likely Mr Whitby didn’t think he’d end up ministerial morning tea when Kaya chomped down on his index finger.

Quickly handing Kaya back to her embarrassed keeper, Mr Whitby was all smiles as he showed off the damaged digit to Seven News cameras who captured the animal attack.

The conference carried on, although Mr Whitby’s finger could be seen bleeding.

Mr Whitby's finger could be seen later in the media conference starting to bleed from the possum bite. Picture: Seven News.

Launched WA’s Feral Cat Strategy with the help of Kaya, a western ringtail possum.
Feral cats jillion millions of native animals like Kaya every year. Today Kaya preferred the warmth of my jacket to fronting cameras. pic.twitter.com/WIStf6SVBp

— Reece Whitby (@ReeceWhitby) June 28, 2023

Among the measures announced in the feral cat strategy was the use of feral cat-detecting automatic gel-blasters — a first in Australia.

The AI-powered devices can distinguish between feral cats and foxes, leaving native animals and humans alone.

They hit a target with a 1080 poison gel pellet, which the animal then licks off.

The $7.6m strategy will also see bait use increased by 50 per cent, and the usage of aerial baiting expanded.

It’s estimated feral cats costs WA’s economy about $300m every year.