that's a very very good point Allan,
but something is better than nothing, for now... I do like the bounty idea
though (not that i'm a Katter fan!!)... make it a good healthy high one, if
that's viable, but let's not encourage the hunting fraternity to just get out
there & blast everything to smithereens!!( my apologies to the responsible
hunters on this list - but i'm referring to the hunters that shoot anything &
everything when they get the chance, not the hunters who can pick the
difference between a deer or wild pig or roo (or cat for that matter!!) from a
Freckled Duck, for instance... cheers,martin cachard, cairns
> From:
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 20:05:33 +1100
> To:
> CC:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Feral cats - an export market?
>
> Hi Phil,
>
> The problem with making a business venture out of any pest species, is that
> once up an running, the business proprietors have a vested interest in
> sustaining the source of their business.
>
> Goats in NSW seem to be a case in point - I think there was a hope that a
> value placed on their head would make farmers eradicate them, but those I’ve
> spoken to see them as a bank account they can draw on every year, just like
> any other flock. The numbers of goats we saw out west on a recent trip was a
> little overwhelming.
>
> Regards,
>
> Allan
>
> > On 19 Feb 2015, at 10:12 am, Philip Veerman <> wrote:
> >
> > I would like to add a bit to this. When I was in China 5 years ago at
> > various places (though mostly in the poorer small cities), I often saw a
> > cage with one or a few kittens (not adult cats) delivered to the
> > restaurants, the cage would just stay out on the footpath until needed. It
> > was not very nice for the young cats to be in a little cage with all the
> > people walking by, not to mention the vast numbers of cars, bikes, etc. At
> > first I wondered why restaurants, rather than pet shops would receive young
> > cats. In general the demand for cats was not huge, compared to other meat
> > sources. There may be something in it that they like the meat to be freshly
> > killed. Then again I did not see or was not told of these mentioned on the
> > menus (It doesn't help that I can't read Mandarin!) Can you imagine a live
> > export trade of mature feral cats from Australia to Asia? I doubt it.......
> > Quite apart from the PR outrage it would raise from within Australia. Why
> > would they be interested in the huge logistic problems and costs of
> > obtaining cat meat from remote parts of Australia? They have more than
> > enough feral cats within their own cities and no doubt rural areas. Sure it
> > is a nice idea what has been put forward from our point of view but I
> > suggest it is fanciful. For the scheme to be big enough to work to fulfil
> > our wishes, it would need to appeal to huge numbers of people. The huge
> > numbers of people is the class of the population that are very poor. They
> > sure are not interested in doing this for the cause of rare species
> > conservation in Australia. They would not be remotely interested in, nor
> > aware of these issues. The Chinese (especially the non wealthy ones) are
> > interested in conservation of the Giant Panda and a few other species but
> > that is about all. Their own lives are hard enough. It appeared to me that
> > generally Chinese people have little concept of any difference between wild
> > fauna and farmed food animals (although I'll admit I am generalising and my
> > sample size of knowledge is small). And yes it is also my experience that
> > Chinese people (e.g. my Chinese former wife and her son) would probably
> > prefer to eat such things rather than eat lamb, as Charles says they don't
> > like the smell of lamb).
> >
> > Similarly I have just returned from Philippines, where most people are far
> > poorer than in China, the huge numbers of stray and partially wanted cats
> > and dogs just living on the street and presumably eating human food scraps,
> > rodents, Tree Sparrows and whatever other little things they can find, would
> > be a far easier source of food than by obtaining wild cats in remote
> > Australia (although I did not detect any culinary interest by the
> > Philippinos in eating cats). In any case if there is a market, the economics
> > would need to be generated with huge financial subsidies by Australia such
> > that the local price in Asia would need to be negligible for this to work in
> > order to compete with local supply. Some may say sure Asians spend huge
> > amounts on exotic food and yes some very wealthy ones do. This does generate
> > conservation tragedies for various rare species but I doubt that cats are
> > included in that. But there are relatively few of the very wealthy compared
> > to so many who are very poor.
> >
> > These are just my observations and opinions (which I would not have had any
> > idea about without my travels there). Others may have more detailed economic
> > insights.
> >
> > Philip
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----From: Birding-Aus
> > On Behalf Of Peter Shute
> > Sent: Thursday, 19 February 2015 12:52 AM
> > To: Charles Cc: birding-aus Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Feral cats - an
> > export market?
> >
> >
> > If that poisoning method is more selective then great. I don't know if
> > exporting is a good idea though. Apart from the outcry, any hunting that
> > generates profit is likely to either fizzle out when density gets low, or
> > encourage people to breed more of them instead of hunting.
> >
> > Peter Shute
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
> >
> >> On 18 Feb 2015, at 10:07 pm, Charles <> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Carl,
> >>
> >> True in some regards. A friend of mine from Myanmar likes to eat cat
> >> (and can't stand eating lamb - hates the smell).
> >>
> >> Cats are very hard to catch.
> >>
> >> They are every where.
> >>
> >> I saw a very large black feral cat last August (2014) near the famed
> >> Golden-shouldered parrot site near Musgrave Roadhouse.
> >>
> >> As you know the GSP is primarily a ground feeder.
> >>
> >> I've seen feral cats at most of my favourite bird watching sites
> >> across Australia (from Nightcap NP to Cape York to Fitzgerald River
> >> NP).
> >>
> >> I spoke with a guy from Northern Queensland last week who said he uses
> >> them for bait in crab nets. They are excellent bait he said.
> >>
> >> This approach to cull them is the best I've seen for a while, see link
> >> below:
> >>
> >> http://m.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/dying-to-be-clean-the-new-tech
> >> nique-for-controlling-feral-cats-20141107-11iehz.html
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >> Charles Hunter
> >> Bronte, Sydney
> >>
> >>> On 18 Feb 2015, at 6:29 pm, Carl Clifford <>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Cat meat is quite popular in parts of Asia and there is a good market
> >>> for cat fur in China and Korea. Perhaps there is a chance for
> >>> Australian entrepreneurs to not only take advantage of these markets
> >>> and help the control. After all, just shooting the cats and leaving
> >>> the carcasses where they fall only gives other cats a free meal.
> >>>
> >>> Just a thought.
> >>>
> >>> Carl Clifford
> >
> >
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