‘Hybrid killing machines’: Outrage over proposal to import pet cat into Australia
A proposal to import a controversial pet cat into Australia has been slammed by a major environment group, who has branded the breed a “hybrid killing machine”.
A fresh call to import a controversial pet cat – branded as a “hybrid killing machine” by one environmental group – into Australia has sparked outrage over fears it would “turbocharge” the nation’s cat crisis.
The Invasive Species Council has blasted what it has called a “ridiculous” new application to the federal government to include Bengal cats – designer hybrids of a domestic cats and Asian leopard cats – on the Live Import List as household pets.
If allowed, the group warned the move – which would reverse a ban implemented earlier this year – would mean “deliberately unleashing more genetic monsters” on the country’s native wildlife.
“This is sheer lunacy, there’s no other way to describe it,” Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough told news.com.au.
“It’s something that needs to be stopped.”
Bengal cats – which have been restricted in several countries – are highly intelligent, athletic, and agile creatures with unique leopard-like coats.
Mr Gough said Invasive Species Council is concerned Bengal cats would ‘inevitably’ escape or breed with feral cats, which would “turbocharge feral cat populations” and kill wildlife already devastated by roaming and feral cats.
“One of the things about these Asian leopard cats is that they are very adapted to rainforest environments. So that means that they are better climbers, they’re better hunters in more densely canopied bushland and they are also better swimmers,” he said.
“They are hybrid killing machines and we’re bringing in genes that will make them more effective and more impactful on our native wildlife in the Australian environment, particularly in rainforest areas.”
Mr Gough said cats are “one of the greatest drivers of extinction” for native animals, with roaming pet cats killing over 300 million native animals every year in Australia, including lizards, frogs, bilbies and small wallabies.
Collectively, feral and roaming cats have driven at least 25 species to extinction, including the pig-footed bandicoot, broad-faced potoroo and desert rat-kangaroo.
The proposal, which is open for public consultation until early October, calls for the Live Import List to be amended to include Bengal cats five or more generations removed from the Asian leopard cat.
“The Bengal cat breed does not pose significant biosecurity risks beyond those of other domestic cat breeds, nor does it pose environmental threats when kept under appropriate care and containment conditions,” the proposal, submitted by an undisclosed applicant, reads.
Mr Gough labelled the application “irresponsible and selfish”, calling out those who “think that their desire for a trophy pet is more important than protecting our native wildlife”.
“There’s no shortage of people being able to access cats as pets. This is purely about a very tiny slice of the population wanting a more cosmetically attractive pet and being willing to put our native wildlife and the small mammals that really go to the heart of who we are as Australians at risk.”
Import of Bengal cats banned in Australia
The proposal comes after Bengal cats were removed from the Live Import List in March under a “very high priority”, scrapping a previously held exemption for fifth generation Bengals.
“Bengal cats are now treated in the same way as all other specimens and hybrids under national environmental law. They cannot be imported,” the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water states on its website.
The department’s 2024 ‘Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats’ notes designer hybrids “have different body sizes, physical abilities, and behaviours that could give them ‘access’ to native species that are currently less susceptible to impacts from the feral cat.”
“Some designer hybrids may also be more able to cross water barriers to reach islands if they can swim, and to access native species currently protected within havens.”
‘Core problem’ in Australia’s import laws
Mr Gough said he’s not surprised by the proposal to backflip on the decision, saying it “exposes a core problem at the heart of our national environmental laws”.
“The problem is our laws that have allowed the application to happen. This needs to change so we don’t have to all go back on this merry-go-round again for the next application.”
He’s called on Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt to block the proposal and prioritise reform of live imports as part of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 reforms this year, to establish a “clear prohibited list under national environment law”.
“When Murray Watt is remaking those laws, which he’s promised to do this year, this needs to be at the top of his list … bringing together a list of prohibited species so that we don’t have to go through this ridiculous dance of applications of new exotic species to be brought in when we could have a clearly prohibited list under federal environment law.”
News.com.au has contacted Mr Watt for comment.
‘An easy target’
Lisa Kirkup, breeder of Mon Tigre Bengal cattery in New South Wales, would like to see the proposal go ahead and Bengal cats five generations or more removed allowed to be imported back into Australia.
“The percentage of Asian leopard in a Bengal cat that’s five generations is incredibly small,” she told news.com.au.
“You just don’t see a lot of those prey-driven characteristics from the Asian leopard cat. So, I think it’s really quite misplaced to say that they would be responsible for any greater killing of natural wildlife in Australia than any other cat.”
While she said “no one wants to see any damage done” to wildlife, she believes Bengals are “an easy target” because of their leopard-like appearance.
Addressing the concern they are powerful climbers and swimmers, she said some Bengals are drawn towards water, while others hate it.
“When you’re breeding animals, they’re all individuals … You find some are really lazy, some love water. But then there are just as many domestic cats that would have those qualities as well.”
“What they have is really active minds. So they’re just as happy living indoors and in fact should be encouraged to to to live indoors as with any cat.”
While Bengals have striking looks, she said Aussies are more drawn to them as pets because their interactive personalities and hypo-allergenic coat.
“They are a really unusual breed of cat in that their intelligence bridges that gap between dog and cats and makes their personality, I think, almost like any other cat,” she added, saying they “love playing fetch and you can walk them on leads like a dog”.
“As people are being forced into apartments because of the cost of living, being able to have a cat that has dog qualities is really wonderful because it provides for people who may not have the luxury of a back garden.”
Over the past seven years as a Bengal breeder, Ms Kirkup, who does not personally import Bengals herself, said there has alway been demand Bengals.
“The people that are buying are not people looking for a trophy cat. People don’t turn up in, Ferrari sports cars to buy these cats. It’s mum and dad and the kids and one of the kids has got a cat allergy, or they live in an apartment.”
Ms Kirkup said Bengal kittens typically sell for $2,000, $2,500 without breeding rights but show or breeding kittens could cost upwards of $5,00.
She added that because of their high cost, Bengal owners are “responsible” and would likely not consider letting them outside in fear they would be stolen.
Ms Kirkup said importing Bengals in Australia is essential for genetic diversity and the health of the breed.
“If the cats just stay in the country and if we continue breeding, then there’s going to come a point where they’re all sharing lines. And what that does is it reduces the genetic diversity, which makes an animal resilient and produces hereditary conditions.”
Rather than opposing the application, she calls for reposibile breeding.
“Bengals are here and they will continue to be here, so we should accept that. It’s more about making sure that the breeding of them is being done in the most responsible and progressive way that we can.”
Other countries have taken a diverse approach to managing the import of Bengals.
In the US, restrictions vary by state and municipality, with Hawaii and Connecticut implementing total bans.
In other countries such as Ireland, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Bengal cats must be five generations removed or higher to be imported.
The application is open for public consultation until October 10.
Originally published as ‘Hybrid killing machines’: Outrage over proposal to import pet cat into Australia
