birding-aus

Scientists rally to keep out 'supercats'

To: Beth Mantle <>
Subject: Scientists rally to keep out 'supercats'
From: peter crow <>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:04:39 +1000
Beth,

I can agree with bits of what you say and greatly disagree with other bits.

My position is I don't hate cats.

I hate what cats do to native wildlife; lizards,skinks, birds even grasshoppers.

I dislike those people who can be described as cat owners who have no sense of responsibility as far as controlling their cats is concerned.

I have some respect to those who own cats and confine (control) them responsibly.

Your accusations that so many are attacking cat owners is, iI think quite unreasonable. Its cats behaviour we hate.

After all, all feral cats are descendant from domestic cats released dumped or whatever by cat owners of some sort. Agreed not all cat owners behave this way.

Regards

Peter

No, Simon, I don't think it is acceptable. That is why I support responsible cat ownership.

Beth.

On 13/06/2008, at 11:32 AM,  wrote:

"Furthermore, domestic "suburban" cats are making
very little difference to suburban ecology for the simple reason that
the animals they are killing are dominant species that occur in large
numbers"

So you are suggesting that because surburban cats are killing common native species that this
males it acceptable?

Simon Muirhead

Quoting Beth Mantle <>:

Ah yes, another opportunity to start "cat-bashing" on the Birding- Aus

email list.

I am wearied by those who relish an opportunity to make bird-loving

cat-owners seem like traitors to the Australian Ecology.  I think it

is quite rude, and I for one am completely fed up with it. I find it

particularly offensive when I am regaled with tales of cat cruelty,
in
the name of "saving the Australian natives", usually after I have
confessed to owning a cat (like a criminal - I feel it is a
"confession").

I could write on for paragraphs as to why (in my humble opinion) cat-

bashers are generally quite ignorant about the complexity of the
feral
animal problem, and instead use domestic cats as a scape-goat for the

atrocious way we are managing the Australian landscape.

Instead, read some literature and get informed.  Prof, Chris Dickson

from Sydney University (mentioned in the below article) has himself
said
"Despite the abundance of observations linking cats to extensive
losses of native species, other evidence suggests that their impact

has been minimal".  Furthermore, domestic "suburban" cats are making

very little difference to suburban ecology for the simple reason that

the animals they are killing are dominant species that occur in large

numbers (e.g. Crested pigeon, Magpie-lark, Noisy miner etc.) (Low,
1999).

I agree that introducing the Ashera hybrid into Australia would be a

disaster and I hope it is prevented.

However, domestic cats were brought here by Europeans and they are
here to stay.  Instead of attacking cat-owners who clearly have a
strong sense of ecological responsibility (like Bill, who keeps his

cat contained), they should be congratulated and held up to the
general public as a shining example of responsible cat ownership.
Then petition your local council to make cat neutering, registration

and containment compulsory.  It is much more productive than "the
only
good cat is a dead cat" email or conversation.

Thank you.

Dr Beth Mantle
Ecologist AND cat-owner (gasp!)
Canberra

On 13/06/2008, at 9:27 AM, Alastair Smith wrote:

From the ABC news website:



Supercat or superbad? An 11kg ashera, a cross between an African
serval, an
Asian leopard and a domestic cat (Reuters: Mike Blake, file photo)

*        <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/06/2267441.htm>
Related
Story: Push to outlaw hybrid supercats

Forty of the nation's leading feral animal researchers are calling
for
urgent changes to prevent hybrid supercats from being imported
into
Australia.

The Federal Government has been under fire after it was revealed
last week
that savannah cats - twice as big as domestic species - are being

imported
by pet shops.

Scientists are warning that bandicoots, bettongs, potoroos and
possums could
soon be on the menu for the imported creatures, which were
originally bred
by crossing domestic cats with the African serval cat.

Scientists, environmentalists and bureaucrats attending a National

Feral Cat
Workshop in Darwin this week have angrily condemned the quarantine

loophole.

The University of Sydney's professor of ecology, Chris Dickman, is

warning
hybrid cats - which can jump up to two metres from a standing start

- would
be uncontrollable in the Australian outback.

"It's taken a lot of people who are concerned about the impacts of

cats in
the Australian environment off guard," he said.

"I think there will be some real concern expressed at the meeting

that here
is an example of another species, a predator that is quite capable

almost
certainly of taking a wide range of native species.

"It hasn't come in through the usual quarantine processes, risk
assessments
that would otherwise need to be done."

Professor Dickman fears savannah cats would prey on the same
Australian
wildlife as foxes.

He says that while foxes can be poisoned, cats have proved
extremely
hard to
control in the outback.

"It would be competing with the fox for food in the same size
class.
We can
control the fox, we are not very good at controlling cats at the
moment," he
said.

"Cats tend to prefer living food, live food, that they catch
themselves. And
as a consequence, it's much more difficult to put baits out and
expect feral
cats to eat them."

The Environment Department says it has been in contact with two
people
proposing to import savannah cats later this year, and is examining

the
implications.



===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================

===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================






===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,send the message:
unsubscribe(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================

===============================
www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 
===============================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU