Folks
I have talked to quite a few ecologists about this at ANU, and the message I
hear is much more mixed, suggesting that cat impact varies a lot from place to
place, because cats do not only eat native animals, they eat a lot of rats,
mice and rabbits. That said, there is a lot of variation in opinion.
It is a while since I reread any of the work in WA on numbat reintroduction but
at one stage their experimental manipulations on small mammal populations
showed a large impact from fox control, but much less from cat control. Anyone
kept up to date on this?
I'll come clean on this: I do have a domestic cat in inner Canberra where we
rent, which takes a lot of rats (over 30 in one month) and no birds; I also
have a bush property, and I would never keep a cat there (not until too old to
hunt, anyway)
kim
Kim Sterelny
Philosophy Program
RSSS, ANU
e-mail
<>,
<>
ANU Contact Information
Philosophy Program
Research School of the Social Sciences
Australian National University
0200 Canberra, ACT, Australia
phone
61- (0)2 6125-2886; messages: Philosophy Program
61-(0)2 -6125 2341,
fax 61-(0)2 - 6125 3294
On 02/07/2014, at 4:43 PM, Greg and Val Clancy wrote:
I am with you Denise. There are a few responsible cat owners who keep their
pets in doors or in a run in the yard but the majority don't. With the
millions of domestic cats in Australia the toll on wildlife must be great.
People are usually aware of the impact of feral cats on native wildlife but
don't realise that their moggy is also a major threat. Any cat not in the
owners house or cat run should be declared 'feral' and be eliminated. Years
ago the NSW government produced a green paper on companion animals which called
for serious and much needed controls on domestic pets, including cats. The pet
food industry lobbied the government and the end result was a lame act,
particularly with respect to cats. My aging mother-in-law, who had the early
stages of dementia at the time, was being disturbed at night by a neighbour's
cat. The Council ranger said that they could only act after it was established
that the cat was a nuisance and that my mother-in-law would need to keep a
diary on the movements of the cat. I don't blame the ranger as he has to work
within the legislation but the control of cats is like the human
over-population issue, the elephant in the room.
Regards
Greg
Dr Greg. P. Clancy
Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide
| PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460
| 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960
http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com
http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/
-----Original Message----- From: Denise Goodfellow
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 4:02 PM
To: Carl Clifford
Cc: Birding Aus
Subject: Threatened species commissioner appointed to helpsave native wildlife
| Environment | theguardian.com
I challenge prominent Australians to stick their necks out and call for
control of all cats.
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
PO Box 71
Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
On 2 Jul 2014, at 2:56 pm, Carl Clifford <> wrote:
Nice to see that the Government is doing something about feral cat control.
What the results will be, who knows. An awful lot of bait will have to be laid
for effective control.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/02/threatened-species-commissioner-to-combat-decline-of-native-wildlife
Carl Clifford
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