1 2 3 4
5 Feral and domestic cat (Felis catus) problems in
6 Australia. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 The urgency to save the natural world from the impacts of mankind, has never been more critical than it 14 is now. Native wildlife species are struggling to exist in their natural habits, from the increasing forces of 15 humans and the competitive pressures from introduced invasive species. The introduction of the cat to 16 Australia for rodent management since 1804 -1886 from visiting ships, has them exponentially settled 17 across 99.8% of the land area and a direct connection in the loss of 10% of 273 native species that have 18 now been listed as extinct in Australia. Cats are being documented to kill 815 million mammals and 19 greater numbers of birdlife per year. Spreading disease to humans, commercial livestock and native 20 species with greater environmental, conservation and economic impacts, which is currently not being 21 publicly conversant. Globally the health hazard to humans of parasitic infection from cat contact, infects 22 30-50% of the worlds human population. Therefore, understanding this prevailing invasive predator 23 species to Australia is critical for conserving native species and the betterment of future management 24 across Australia’s unique landscape. 25
26 27 28 29 30
Submission: Nicole Galea 1
31 Authors Bio:
32 My Name is Nicole Galea, my relevant qualifications include: Bachelor Animal Ecology, Bachelor
33 of Science (Hons1) Zoology - (Current research in review for publication), Cert IV in Government
34 Investigations and Cert IV in Workplace Training & Assessing.
35 36 I live on the Sunshine Coast – Maleny and have previously worked with University of the Sunshine
37 Coast, Sunshine Coast Council and Sunshine Coast Council Mary Caincross Reserve during my
38 research on cats.
39 40 41 My Unique Knowledge: Over the past 4 years I have focused my research on cats
42 (domestic/stray/feral) and their impacts to the natural landscapes and how the current invasive
43 species management policies are lacking the education platform to public awareness. What is
44 evident, is that the current legislation has limitations and the Threat Abatement Plan for predation
45 by feral cats has not effectively executed the objectives of the current plan.
46 47 My current investigative research has reviewed the effectiveness of a retail prey protector device
48 for free-roaming domestic cats. This study was aimed to identify the biomechanical changes to a
49 cats natural movement and hunting behaviours when wearing the device, to reduce the impacts on
50 native wildlife species. My study found progressive findings in that cats reduced their high energy
51 hunting behaviours when wearing the prey-protector device and zero animal kill-return rates
52 occurred. I also found that cats did not acclimate to wearing the device over time, like they do with
53 bells etc. The device is a safe and cost-effective solution ($17) to better manage free-roaming
54 domestic cats to reduce the impacts on native wildlife species, for the interim, until better
55 mandatory legislation is applied to cat owners.
56 57 My availability for enquiry: I’m available for all consult, project management, employment and
58 public hearings.
59 Submission: Nicole Galea 2
60 Content: 61 62 Terms of reference for the Committee’s inquiry are:
63 1. The prevalence of feral and domestic cats in Australia; (p.4-)
64 2. The impact of feral and domestic cats including on native wildlife and habitats; (p.5-7)
65 3. The effectiveness of current legislative and regulatory approaches - QLD; (p.7-18)
66 4. The effectiveness of Commonwealth action and cooperation with states and territories on
67 this issue, including progress made under the Threat Abatement Plan, national framework
68 and national declaration relating to feral and domestic cats in Australia; (p.18-19)
69 5. The efficacy (of reducing the impact of cats), cost effectiveness and use of current and
70 emerging methods and tools for controlling feral cats, including baiting, the establishment of
71 feral cat-free areas using conservation fencing, gene drive technology; (p.19)
72 6. The efficacy of import controls for high risk domestic cat varieties to prevent the impacts of
73 feral and domestic cats, including on native wildlife and habitats; (p.19-20)
74 7. Public awareness and education in relation to the feral and domestic cat problem; (p.20-
75 23.)
76 8. The interaction between domestic cat ownership and the feral cat problem, and best
77 practice approaches to the keeping of domestic cats in this regard. (p.23-24)
78 • Appendix – Suggested Cat Management Plan Objectives. (p.25-26)
79 • Reference (p.27-30)
Submission: Nicole Galea 3
80 1) The prevalence of feral and domestic cats in Australia
81 Since domestication, cats Felis catus have become one of the most abundant and widespread
82 terrestrial quadruped carnivores in the world [18]. Now, domestic cats have progressed forward
83 from the use in farming management to become a treasured and valued family pet [21,22,43].
84 In recent years, however, with the limited government educational efforts targeted to the
85 community concerning cats’ and their impacts to local fauna, there still has been public
86 awareness which has resulted in pet cat ownership declining from 5 million to 3.9 million
87 individuals in Australia [22,25,42].
88
89 Cats are currently occupying 99.8% of Australia’s land area according to the latest research
90 [19]. A recent study established that the feral unowned cat population in Australia is estimated
91 over 2.1 million individuals and found a feral cat fluctuation between 1.4 million in extreme
92 drought conditions to 5.6 million after widespread wet periods [25,19]. Other supporting
93 studies emphasised that the greatest native species population declines, and extinctions were
94 occurring from predation from unowned-feral cats, in semi-arid and arid areas across Australia
95 [43]. The unowned-stray cat population is estimated as 1- 1.2 million and is projected that city-
96 strays to be 60-100 per 1000 humans, and free-roaming owned pet cats has been estimated
97 over 3.9 million individuals [25,29].
98
99
100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 Submission: Nicole Galea 4
109
110 2) The impact of feral and domestic cats including on native wildlife and 111 habitats;
112 • Cat hunting behaviours
113 Cats possess a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws and teeth that
114 are very effective at executing a final fatal bite to prey [4]. Cats also have an acute acoustic
115 adaption to higher frequency sounds, emitted by small mammals and birds [42]. With the
116 ability to filter noises and sounds pitched higher than dogs and humans can possibly hear,
117 cats can locate prey on sound alone [42]. These highly effective evolved predatory features
118 blend a cats nature to a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche [17]. These
119 physiological features and instinctual hunting behaviours are very effective against small
120 Australian native species, which have few evolutionary adaptations to counter the efficacy
121 of such predators [13,25]. Australia has unfortunately experienced the highest rate of
122 mammal extinction on Earth with the introduction of cats and the red fox (Vulpes Vulpes)
123 according to recent research [5,16,44].
124 125 126 Cats are currently listed by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red
127 List as one of the top 100 most destructive introduced invasive species around the globe
128 [22,16]. In Australia, free-roaming pet cats hunt and kill 180 million individual prey species
129 per year [25,45]. Recent findings indicate that cats have contributed significantly to the loss
130 of 10% of 273 native species that have now been listed as extinct in Australia [25]. Cats
131 have also contributed to an additional decline of 21% of small native wildlife species which
132 are listed as threatened from the (IUCN) Red List [7, 22,25]. A recent study showed that
133 the feral cat population, estimated at 2.1 million individuals, kills 815 million mammals per
134 year (95% CI: 530 – 1,414 million) [25]. This is further supported by current research,
135 highlighting that the greatest native species population declines, and extinctions were
136 occurring from predation from feral cats, in semi-arid and arid areas across Australia. In the
Submission: Nicole Galea 5
137 urban areas alone, the unowned-stray cat population, is estimated at >700 000 thousand
138 individuals, that kills 149 million mammals per year [25,43]. Whereas, pet cat population is
139 estimated at 3.9 million, and the free-roaming individuals kill 180 million mammals per year,
140 returning home only 18.6% of the prey kills [25]. On average, it is estimate that each free-
141 roaming pet cat kills 46.4 mammals per year [25] Overall, many studies have shown that
142 cats are a major threat to native species survival [3,11,25,19].
143 144 • Quantifiable impact of cats
145 Cats are highly effective hunters, displaying variations in hunting tactics and prey-specific
146 behaviours [8,9,20,23]. Their high level of environmental adaptability and effective
147 predation behaviours including disease transmission makes them fatal to native wildlife
148 species [8,9,20,23,24,25,44]. Cats also are the definitive hosts for a common disease-
149 causing parasite (Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis and Cryptosporidium), although other
150 warm-blooded animals can act as transitional hosts to spread the diseases, cats are the
151 optimal original host. Toxoplasma gondii is globally the most significant causes of disease
152 burden among foodborne pathogens [28].
153
154 • The negative impacts of cats include:
155 • (Commercial livestock) - high levels of embryoid miscarriages in breeding
156 seasons, the commercial meat industry is effected with carcass wastage from
157 trimming effected areas from cysts and total carcass contamination from the
158 sarcocystosis parasite which is a direct economic loss to the livestock
159 producers/industry with costs in the millions of dollars annually [28,38,39].
160
161 • (Native wildlife) – Australian marsupials are particularly susceptible to
162 toxoplasmosis, causing kidney failure and a slow death [15].
163
Submission: Nicole Galea 6
164 • (Humans) – Toxoplasma gondii is an increasing concern for pregnant women, which
165 can affect the unborn child or cause miscarriages. Also, alarming for those individuals
166 with a compromised immune system as the long-lived parasite encysts in the brain
167 [28,40]. With subclinical infections linked to brain infections, brain cancer and mental
168 illness in humans. If untreated can lead to blindness, seizures and life-threatening
169 encephalitis. Globally the health hazard infects 30-50% of the worlds human population.
170 Other studies have shown that some of the asymptomatic infections have developed to
171 other human pathologies [10]. Other parasites transmitted from cats to humans include:
172 Cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae), ringworm (Microsporum canis), roundworm
173 (Toxocara cati) and Giardiasis (Giardia duodenalis). The transmission route of these
174 parasites is from ingesting infected tissue found in infected meats, from mother to
175 offspring and cat excretions, which remains active in soils (landfill), vegetation and water
176 for up to a year [15].
177 3) The effectiveness of current legislative and regulatory approaches;
178 The ABS has estimated that less than half the cat owners in Australia adhere to registration
179 or local laws, which increases the unowned stray/feral cat populations and has devastating
180 impacts on native wildlife species [9,18,22,25]. The current laws for owning a pet cat are
181 fractured and perplex for many owners, which then neglect to uphold a responsibility. For
182 example - There is no mandatory desexing legislation across all states. Except ACT, SA,
183 TAS and WA who have legislation – “it is an offence to own an un-de-sexed over 6 months”
184 (ACT – undesexed over 3 months) without permits. Queensland government –
185 “recommends” desexing.
186 Queensland (QLD)
187 Management practices – Domestic cats
188 What is absent is a Cat Management Plan for Queensland. This plan would have to
189 identify that cat management needs to be a shared responsibility across all Submission: Nicole Galea 7
190 governments, businesses and community stakeholders. With a purpose to provide a
191 better management and control of all cats (domestic, stray and feral), which should be
192 aimed to ensure that cat impacts to the environment are reduced and not increasing to
193 the unowned stray/feral populations and the life cycle is reducing.
194
195 The plan should aim to (a) promote responsible cat welfare and ownership, including;
196 (pre-pubis desexing, microchipping, registration and enclosure confined living) of all
197 domestic cats; and (b) educate the community with tools for better cat care to minimise
198 disease transmission; (c) deliver an effective management policy and best practise for
199 humane treatment of unowned-stray/feral cats; (d) reduce the impacts of cats on the
200 natural landscape and biodiversity; (e) reduce the impact of cats on the commercial
201 livestock industry. (see Appendix).
202
203 Suggested Plan Objectives: (see Appendix)
204 1. Greater pet ownership responsibility = community awareness & legislation, with
205 the aim to reduce cats entering the stray and feral population.
206 2. Greater community awareness, education and participation in better cat
207 management practices. Apply tougher penalties to breaches to legislation and
208 ensure that all legislation is the same in very state and local government.
209 3. assist owners with better tools and information for a greater responsibility stake,
210 to ensure owners can make more informed decisions for better cat care and
211 management practices.
212 4. Identifying the ‘Best Practice’ approach (accumulated scientific information and
213 experience proven) techniques to better manage domestic, stray and feral cat
214 controls.
215 5. Develop strategies to reduce the impacts of cats on conservation/environmental
216 values and commercial livestock asset protection.
Submission: Nicole Galea 8
217 6. Collaborative initiatives with invested stakeholders (example; local governments,
218 landowners and animal shelters)
219 7. Amend legislations to create a more effective structure or a Code of Practice
220 (COP) for managing (domestic/stray/feral) cats and review the current Standard
221 Operating Procedures (SOP’s) then develop new best practice principles that
222 have evolved for better pest animal controls. While SOPs address animal
223 welfare issues applicable to each technique, a Code of Practice (COP) is also
224 required that brings together these procedures into a document which also
225 specifies humane control strategies and their implementation. COP’s should
226 include all aspects of controlling a pest animal species. This includes best
227 practice principles, relevant biological information, guidance on choosing the
228 most humane and appropriate control technique and how to most effectively
229 implement management programs.
230
231 The activities and far-reaching impacts of free-roaming cats from residential areas into
232 natural zones has raised increasing concerns and the issues have not yet been
233 addressed nor have cats reduced in natural zones [25,26]. Subsequently, some
234 management practices are being used to protect biodiversity from free-roaming cats
235 [20]. These include:
236
237 • Containment (not mandatory across local governments).
238 As free roaming is the point of disease spread from species to species and including
239 commercial & native animals. It is the compounding point of impact to native wildlife, kill
240 rates and environmental pressures, and the point of increased breeding impacts. At this
241 point no penalties are applied to wandering cats - unless caught and handed into the
242 local council pound, where penalties are applied to owners on pick-up, if applicable.
Submission: Nicole Galea 9
243 (Animal Management (Cats & Dogs) Act 2008, Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 and the
244 Biosecurity Act 2014).
245 However, being a pet owner in Queensland states nowhere that confinement of pets to
246 owners yard/premises is part of being a responsible pet owner under the Animal
247 protection Act 2001 s217,(2)(b). The law for pet owners is not clearly defined across
248 local councils and is functionally fractured. It is evident this vital piece of information is
249 not being highlighted to the wider community and simplifying the laws under the
250 legislation to capture this knowledge, would have greater benefits for all stakeholders
251 and the community.
252 Suggested Solution
253 1. Education programs – Social and television advertising, scientific poster,
254 promote safe animal ownership. Greater responsibility directed towards
255 education delivered from state & local governments, RSPCA/shelters, animal
256 welfare adoption agencies and all registered breeders.
257 2. Amend the legislation to enforce cats to remain in enclosures and increase the
258 penalties for owners of free-roaming cats, provide more trapping devices for the
259 public and community to aid in the tightening of these restrictions, by catching
260 free-roaming cats and surrendering to the pound.
261 3. Provide a better public or local council system to assist the community when
262 calling the local councils for help with nuisance wandering cats in the
263 community. Currently there are limited resources available to the community
264 lacking cat management officers or traps available.
265 4. Animal Registration fee reduction on certification of cage confinement approved.
266 5. Increased penalty units applied to all owned cats if caught by local law officers
267 or complaints from neighbours.
268 6. Mandatory micro-chipping, registration & desexing through veterinarians
269 cooperative with local councils – fee reductions applied to cat owners on these Submission: Nicole Galea 10
270 variables when certification of confinement is approved.- (veterinarians would
271 need to apply for supplements applied to the variable costs from state
272 government)
273 7. Employ more community officers to educate and help implement strategies to
274 the community to restrict cats free-roaming and encourage/enforce cat
275 containment.
276
277 • Education: There is a lack of educational information available to the wider community
278 and groups, on the impacts cats have on the natural landscapes and commercial
279 industry. There is an educational deficiency that requires greater attention, which
280 should be directed to public awareness of cat impacts, diseases and legislation
281 knowledge, to assist cat owners and the community on better practices in animal care. A
282 large proportion of cat owners have no knowledge that it is an offence to let domestic
283 animals wander and the consistent response by most cat owners is they do feel their cat
284 wanders. This statement has been disproved over and over again through research,
285 that all cats wander unless confined to a cage or fenced in enclosure. It appears that cat
286 owners, breeders, the general public should be advised on the implications of direct cat
287 contact, (healthcare – cross contamination of parasites and the effects this contact could
288 cause to those immune compromised or pregnant etc). Attention directed to cat
289 ownership responsibilities and how to better manage cats according to legislation and a
290 duty of care that effects the transferability of parasites/disease to same-
291 species/commercial/native animals, if cats are let to irresponsibly free-roam.
292 Suggested Solution
293 1. Education programs introduced – Social and mainstream media advertising.
294 Develop state-wide initiative/campaigns to encourage and facilitate responsible
295 cat ownership and better management of cats in Queensland. (Example –
296 Tassie-Cat Project) This is a well-designed campaign targeted to the wider Submission: Nicole Galea 11
297 public through a four-part video series to promote responsible cat ownership
298 with the use of satire.
299 2. Introducing a Certified Cat Confinement Certificate. This would need some
300 brainstorming to develop and implement. It could include proof of a purchase of
301 a system through a manufacturer (Oscillot, CatSafe, Happy Cat Enclosures, Cat
302 Max, Cat Netting & Enclosures), Evidence of a enclosure built by an application
303 to local council with an inspection to ensure the standards are met under the
304 Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 that the animals are safe (ex. Similar to a
305 food licence compliance inspection or building inspection).
306 3. Employ more community involved cat coordinator officers into the community to
307 educate and help implement strategies to the community to check on animal
308 containment regulations and certification of containment to restrict cats free
309 roaming. This can have a positive spin with registration fee reductions,
310 discounted microchipping, vaccinations, desexing etc – a collaboration with local
311 vets etc. even grant funding.
312 4. Scientific educational posters/pamphlets - introduced to all animal industry
313 platforms (Breeders, clubs, private veterinary practices, schools, local councils,
314 national parks and registered cat owners etc).
315
316 Registering: This varies in requirements between each local government under Animal
317 Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008 s9 (1)(a) “if a local government makes a local law
318 requiring cats to be registered – identified as the owner of the cat under the local law”.
319 There is currently limited data available on the exact number of cats in each council region,
320 although, there is an estimation is some cases. However, this data collected could be used
321 to determine the exact number of domestic cats per house or suburb through lodging
322 registration details. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), states, that less than half of
323 the Australian population register their cats [9,18,22,25], we know why, as it is not
Submission: Nicole Galea 12
324 mandatory across local governments. This is confusing for the community and fractured in
325 continuity.
326 Suggested Solution
327 1. Encourage registration fee reductions, if owners meet a mandatory government
328 implemented ‘Vet Check’ data system; this should include: All Individual cat
329 information at the breeder/veterinary first visit, owners details, micro-chopped,
330 pre-pubis de-sexing, registrations to local councils, certificated confinement
331 documents and information on every cat.
332 2. Increased penalties applied to dumping of individuals and kitten litters.
333 3. Only registered/accredited breeders Animal Management (Cats & Dogs) Act
334 2008 43G,1(b) are to breed cats and without the required registration
335 certifications, back-yard breeding should incur larger penalties and breeding
336 stock removed. Having a database that can track the origins of each kitten/cat
337 purchase to its death, would assist with better management outcomes.
338
339 Microchipping (PPIDs): Under the Animal Management (Cats & Dogs) Act 2008 [s14](1),
340 All cats born after April 2009 must be microchipped before they are sold or given away.
341 ‘A person who is or becomes an owner of a cat or dog that is not implanted with a PPID 342 must ensure the cat or dog is implanted with a PPID before it is 12 weeks old unless the 343 person has a reasonable excuse’.
344 Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.
345 However, it is a compulsory legislation requirement to microchip and register the
346 information “prior to the sale/transfer and prior to reaching 12 weeks of age” under the
347 Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008 [s14](1), in Queensland. However, this is
348 not enforced through the follow up of local laws officers or veterinary services and is only
349 detectable if and when the cat is caught and taken to the pound. Then the issue of animal
350 identification and owner contact is the problem and the possibility of the animal euthanized Submission: Nicole Galea 13
351 if not retrieved or adopted. Local governments do not follow up on cats within the
352 community and assign a breach to the owners to microchip their cats under the legislation.
353 Suggested Solution
354 1. Amend of the legislation to ensure cats are required to be microchip at the point
355 of the breeder/first veterinary services and before ownership is granted. As the
356 owner details can be updated when the purchase of the cat occurs.
357 2. Apply greater penalties to breaches to be upheld to all owners, to ensure all
358 responsibilities are met when owning a cat.
359 3. Offer incentives – subsidised to veterinary services to ensure every individual cat
360 is microchipped, vaccinated and de-sexed at the point of hand over from breeder
361 – no exemptions. Unless for registered breeder, or permits have applied for an
362 exemption.
363
364 • Neutering (desexing): Not mandatory in Queensland, for example - The wording
365 “Desexing your cat has many benefits, including health benefits” (Ipswich Council web
366 page). “De-sex your cat - although not compulsory, this will help to reduce unwanted
367 litters. Behavioural problems in cats can also lead to roaming issues” (Sunshine Coast
368 Council web page). The issues of feral and stray cats originate from this point and will
369 always be an issue whilst cat owners have no mandatory responsibility to stop
370 unwanted litters entering the shelters or into the unowned stray/feral population. The
371 numbers of strays/ferals will not decrease whilst this piece of legislation is not amended
372 and enforced.
373
374 Cats are prolific breeders and the animal shelters of the Royal Society for the Prevention
375 of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and other municipal animal facilities are overwhelmed
376 each year with adult cats and kitten surrenders. This includes 50-85% are urban stray
Submission: Nicole Galea 14
377 captures and across Australia 48-56% are euthanized [29]. Euthanizing large numbers
378 of healthy animals has large and widespread effects on workers, including mental health
379 issues, traumatic stress disorders and constant turnover of shelter workers [32,34,35].
380
381 Current research in Queensland has found that veterinarians all agree that desexing
382 (surgical sterilization and castrations) is recommended, as a main tool to reduce cat
383 populations [27]. However, there is a distinct deficiency in the actual advised age of
384 desexing, as the desexing age is often too late at 6-months, as female kittens start
385 reproductions as early as 3.5 – 4-months and males at 5-months old [27]. Having the
386 desexing age changed to 4-months or pre-pubis, would expect to see a widespread
387 decline in numbers entering shelters, within a single lifetime of a cat [27]. The
388 suggestion that ‘Spay-Delay’ policy from veterinarians could be increasing the cat
389 population rates [2].
390 Suggested Solution
391 1. Amend the legislation to instate a mandatory desexing policy for all cats now
392 and from this time forward over the age of 4- months or pre-pubis, unless
393 permitted from a breeder as breeding stock – must be desexed. (This will
394 eliminate the backyard unregistered breeders, reduce dumping of litters, reduce
395 the impact of cat numbers entering in the stray/feral populations and reduce the
396 impact on native/commercial animals.
397 2. Support discounting desexing programs (ex. National Desexing Network (NDN),
398 The last litter Program and include mandatory desexing of all cats entering the
399 pound/shelters and RSPCA systems.
400 3. Offer incentives on reduced registration or free life-time registrations policies
401 across all local councils for cats who are proven to be microchipped, de-sexed
402 vaccinated and confined to a cage enclosure system.
403
Submission: Nicole Galea 15
404 FERAL PROGRAMS - TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release) programs: According to current
405 research the TNR programs have been in the past expensive and with minimal
406 transformations to the impact of feral cat in an area. The timelines involved in the
407 restoration of the area or the impact to the native wildlife are catastrophic and apply
408 pressures associated with - ‘Threatened, Endangered or Extinct’ to native species. The
409 life span of the cats released back into an area from these programs, extends the
410 timeline impacting on wildlife. As the life duration of each cats lives 2-16 years and not
411 until these years, would there be sizable results seen in the reduction of wildlife
412 pressures from cats. TNR programs require extensive manpower and management,
413 which is expensive.
414 Suggested Solution
415 1. It all comes back to the management of the wider community and their mandatory
416 restrictions of owning a domestic cat. The foundation of feral cat control is the
417 application of the above management practices of domestic cats, which are being
418 suggested to be implemented to protect biodiversity from free-roaming cats.
419 2. TNR programs are grossly expensive and require large scale manpower and are
420 only effective long term and have zero immediate impact to the cat populations.
421 This practice of TNR still inflicts enormous impacts to the natural landscape and
422 the native wildlife in the area. The numbers of unowned/feral cats are not
423 immediately reduced and the impact to commercial livestock is still evident and
424 impacting industry investments.
425 3. Unowned stray/feral cats are difficult to trap capture.
426
427 • Management Practices – Feral cats
428 Currently there are different eradication programs being implemented across a
429 variety of stakeholders (landowners, biosecurity, local & state governments), and all
430 programs have different results. This may include, trapping (cage or leg hold), TNR, Submission: Nicole Galea 16
431 aerial baiting (EradicatR), 1080 bait stations and shooting. It is common knowledge
432 amongst land management practices that cat trapping and aerial bait programs are
433 not very species specific and impact on other species (including omnivore/carnivore
434 native species and domestic dogs/dingoes etc) nor hold conclusive statistics in the
435 complete reductions of cats to an area, other than small inhabited islands.
436 Suggested Solution
437 Cats are identified by their distinctive body, biomechanics and behavioural
438 characteristics, which is currently being optimised in new research supporting the
439 development of the ‘Felixer’ grooming trap for feral cats and foxes. This device is
440 more species specific and has near to zero implications to other species. It is
441 designed to automatically detect and distinguish target feral cats/foxes from
442 similar sized native species/livestock/humans. This development has a broader
443 effective application for a contained eradication tool than other practices in the
444 past. The Felixer is a solar and battery powered, automated device that uses
445 programmable acoustic lures, discriminatory sensor arrangements and the
446 Felixer algorithm has been developed to visually distinguish cats and foxes from
447 other non-target species [31]. The device delivers (sprays) a toxic gel (PAPP
448 toxin or 1080) onto the fur of the identified targeted species as it moves past the
449 sensor and then later the animal licks off the poison whilst oral grooming [30].
450 (The Felixer is also designed to collect detailed data to provide site-based
451 statistics, performance optimisation and definite targeted and non-targeted
452 species information [31].
453
454 Conditions of use:
455 Currently, agricultural chemicals and toxins are governed by the Australian
456 Pesticide & Medical Veterinary Association (APVMA), whilst the Felixer device is
Submission: Nicole Galea 17
457 a new tool that administers toxins, it appears to be under restricted research
458 permits (Ecological Horizons).
459 Research results:
460 The current research has highlighted the effectiveness of the Felixer grooming
461 tool with rates of 83% of feral cats and 100% fox encounters. Supporting that the
462 device has a greater targeted control than typically attained through baiting
463 stations and aerial dropping. The results indicated that the Felixer is safe and an
464 automated mechanism, which has a greater indiscriminative baiting deliver
465 system of a measured 1080 toxin to foxes and feral cats [31]. This grooming tool
466 should be replacing current conventional control methods because it has strong
467 evidence, that the device identifies negligible exposure to any native or non-
468 target wildlife [31].
469 4) The effectiveness of Commonwealth action and cooperation with states 470 and territories on this issue, including progress made under the Threat 471 Abatement Plan, national framework and national declaration relating to 472 feral and domestic cats in Australia.
473 The current Threat Abatement Plan framework still lacks the urgent progressiveness
474 needed to isolate the cat problems in all of the states and territories. What is evident is that
475 there are increasing amounts of research and evidence pointing towards cats and how
476 enormous the pest issue is to the Australian landscape. However, the funded framework
477 requires auditing and management for better long-lasting outcomes, this would include
478 amended legislation for all states and territories to manage cats all the same. Because the
479 current frameworks are not sustainable and effective, because not ALL the levels of cat
480 management are being united as a whole problem. The framework for the domestic cat
481 management lacks sustainability short and long term, as it is currently being managed. It
482 requires an audit of procedures and best practises to deliver better sustainable and
Submission: Nicole Galea 18
483 effective outcomes in removing and managing cats. Because the community of cat owners
484 are unaware of their own responsibilities and the impacts cats have to the ecosystem.
485
486 5) The efficacy (in terms of reducing the impact of cats), cost effectiveness 487 and use of current and emerging methods and tools for controlling feral 488 cats, including baiting, the establishment of feral cat-free areas using 489 conservation fencing, gene drive technology.
490 Historically, the research and the best practise associated with feral cat management has
491 identified that feral cats are hesitant to take-up aerial distributed meat baits or enter open
492 front traps. However, previous management practices (trapping, shooting, baiting, exclusive
493 fencing, guardian dogs/sniffer dogs and fire management) involving larger scale controls,
494 have been acknowledged as time consuming, are labour intensive and incur high costs with
495 only a short-term outcomes/results. There is strong evidence available highlighting that cats
496 are demonstrating significant impacts to native species all over Australia. The specialised
497 reintroduction programs of threated species back into designated areas, has in the past
498 failed, if feral cat predations continue and penetrates that area [5]. Studies have found that
499 low density feral cat populations or even a single feral cat on an island, can still have the
500 ability to quickly wipe-out the re-introduced population of threatened or endangered species
501 in an area [5].
502
503 6) The efficacy of import controls for high risk domestic cat varieties to 504 prevent the impacts of feral and domestic cats, including on native wildlife 505 and habitats.
506 This relates to the quarantine and biosecurity regulations under the Environment Protection
507 and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) and the Live import animal lists.
508 The current risk assessment on the Savannah cat for example, which is a cross hybrid Submission: Nicole Galea 19
509 between the (Felis catus x African Serval Leptailurus serval) the risk has been deemed
510 “extreme risk to the Australian environment” by (DAWE). The current control points of cat
511 control in Australia are not being effectively managed with the standard cat population. If
512 the introduction of an African Serval was deemed, this massive cat with a body weight of
513 12-15 kg and 83-85cm in length would ensure further extinction of native species. Currently
514 the hybrid Bengal cat (Felis catus x Prionailurus bengalenis) has an exception to the
515 general policy of import restrictions. Considerably smaller than the African Serval with a
516 body weight of 3-7kg, however is an extremely athletic cat and if released or crossbred to
517 the unowned stray or feral population could also have catastrophic outcomes to
518 biodiversity. Bengal cat owners should have greater restrictive protocols to follow to own
519 this breed of cat in Australia. .
520 “Of particular note is that domestic cats and dogs were originally included on the Live Import List 521 through a transfer from the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 (Cth) 522 under section 303EB(4) of the EPBC Act at the establishment of the Live Import List. As such 523 neither underwent a risk assessment (as is now required under the EPBC Act) and had such an 524 assessment been undertaken, would almost certainly have been deemed to represent an extreme 525 risk to the Australian environment (the Department has acknowledged the extreme risk that the 526 feral cat represents by listing it as a key threatening process and has developed a threat abatement 527 plan to manage that risk)”(DAWE.gov). 528 529 Currently, (DAWE) have a broad policy position to assess any new hybrid species case by
530 case (including cats & dogs) entering Australia and to consider any unacceptable risks.
531 However, with Australia under threat from invasive species and the leader in the highest
532 extinction rate of native species in the world, these imports should not be a consideration at
533 all and not be granted importation.
534
535 7) Public awareness and education in relation to the feral and domestic cat 536 problem.
Submission: Nicole Galea 20
537 Currently some states have unique community programs available to the wider population,
538 delivering information on responsible cat ownership for example. Tasmania – The Tassie
539 cat program. However, less than half of the Australian population register their cats nor do
540 cat owners understand the legalities in regard to free-roaming domestic cats, this includes
541 vague cat ownerships responsibilities and penalties applied to breaches amongst different
542 local and state governments . Each state has confusing and differing legislation across the
543 management of cats. With the full knowledge that the cat is an absolute introduced,
544 invasive pest species, all legislation should be governed under a single legislative ruling
545 and made mandatory in every local government. Including mandatory - registration, micro-
546 chipping, de-sexes, vaccinations, contained in an enclosure and all details on a data base.
547 Also, all cats can only be purchased from registered breeders and shelters) in each state
548 and within all local governments. So, there is accurate information and all cat ownership is
549 trackable from birth to death.
550 The general population have limited knowledge that cats spread diseases to humans,
551 native wildlife and commercial livestock unless they have researched or been exposed to
552 native animal care. This is not common knowledge and the general population has limited
553 information on how destructive a cats species is, and it kills millions and millions of native
554 species annually.
555 • Suggested Objectives:
556 1. The development and introduction to a ‘Cat Management Plan’ should be
557 aimed to (a) promote responsible cat welfare and ownership this includes
558 (desexing, microchipping, registration and confinement) of all domestic cats;
559 and (b) deliver an effective management policy and best practise for humane
560 treatment of unowned stray/feral cats; (c) reduce the impacts of cats on the
561 natural landscape; (d) reduce the impact of cats on the commercial livestock
562 industry and (e) educate the community of cat-to-human disease Submission: Nicole Galea – 21
563 transmission. (See Appendix for possible Cat Management Objectives -
564 EXAMPLE (p.25-26)
565 2. The development and introduction of a ‘Vet Check’ data system to educate,
566 identify and track cat ownership in every postcode, in every state from the
567 birth to the death of the cat. This registration system could generate an
568 accurate and live information source and give invested stakeholders the
569 information for better environmental and financial management within a
570 community.
571 3. There is a lack of educational information available to the population, on the
572 impacts which cats have to the natural landscapes and commercial industry.
573 This educational absence requires a greater attention to be directed to public
574 awareness of cat impacts, diseases and legislation knowledge. A large
575 proportion of cat owners have no idea it is an offence to let domestic animals
576 wander and have highlighted that “their cats don’t wander”. This statement
577 has been refuted over and over again through research, that all cats wander
578 unless confined to a cage or fenced in and no access to the other side. It
579 appears that cat owners, breeders, the general public should be advised on
580 the implications of direct cat contact, (healthcare – cross transmission of
581 parasite’s and it could cause to those with a compromised immunity and or
582 pregnant etc).
583 4. Ownership responsibilities - how to better manage cats according to
584 legislation and safety.
585 5. My current research on retail prey protector device (CatBibTM), found that the
586 general population were very limited in the understanding of the current
587 Queensland legislation in regard to cat management, ownership
588 responsibilities and legislation regarding free-roaming behaviours and their
589 responsibilities. However, some cat owners were happy to participate in the
Submission: Nicole Galea 22
590 research which allowed free-roaming cats to wear a prey-protector device,
591 designed to reduce kill-returns of native animals. This device immediately
592 stopped kill-returns of 81% birds, 45% mammals and 33% herpetofauna
593 (lizards/frogs/retiles) [13].
594 8) The interaction between domestic cat ownership and the feral cat 595 problem, and best practice approaches to the keeping of domestic cats 596 in this regard.
597 As previously mentioned in Section 3. The effectiveness of current legislative and
598 regulatory approaches; Getting the information out to the public and collecting community
599 support will provide for better management, that is designed to assist cat owners with tools.
600 The Best Practice method would see the legislation amended to a single legislation, that is
601 followed by all local and state government bodies.
602 To reduce and stop the spread of the cat population in Australia, is to implement measures
603 that govern how domestic cats are managed. The use of a species specific eradication
604 devices/method, which will not impact other animals, would be the best practice method.
605 Increase the management programs of feral/stray cats to immediately reduce the impact of
606 cats in an area. Remove TNR programs from the funding and programs, as they are not
607 cost effective and do not eliminate the short-term problem to the environment which has a
608 long-term sustainability impact. Cats are an invasive species, introduced and the damaged
609 caused by not acting quickly in their management, has now had devastating implication to
610 the biodiversity here in Australia.
611 It is apparent as the Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats, has been
612 implemented to eradicate feral cats from islands and area where they threaten vulnerable
613 native animals; prevent feral cats from occupying new islands where they may be a threat
614 to native communities; promote the recovery of species threatened by feral cats; improve
Submission: Nicole Galea 23
615 the effectiveness and humaneness of cat control methods and improve the understanding
616 of the impacts of feral cats on native animals.
617 As the cat problem is not going away nor lessening, as quickly as the impact of cats are
618 leaving on the natural landscape, under the current government policies and legislation.
619 The urgency for better management outcomes, requires an immediate action plan from
620 governments and invested stakeholders, for a more effective managing body to oversee the
621 funding of these projects assigned to the Abatement Plan in relations towards outcomes
622 and funding. Currently, The Abatement Plan identifies the priority and time frames of the
623 eradication of feral cats be of ‘Very High Priority’ - ‘High Priority’ to ‘Medium Priority’ and
624 also states “…as there is no likelihood of nationally eradicating all feral cats in the life-time
625 of this plan” (p26). Unless all levels of cat management is addressed and prioritised as
626 urgent action required, there is never going to be a control point of this species.
627 Historically, the lack of urgency and abrupt action has had devastating consequences, as
628 Australia has experienced the highest rate of mammal extinction on Earth, with the
629 introduction of cats and the red fox (Vulpes Vulpes) [5,16,44].
630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637
Submission: Nicole Galea 24
638 639 Appendix: A suggested Cat Management Plan Objective - Example. 640 641 1. Greater responsibility for owning a cat. (Community awareness & legislation 642 knowledge). 643 644 Objective outcomes: Cat owners are empowered with knowledge to make better 645 management choices for the safety of their cat and other species. This includes acting 646 responsible, so their cat does not strengthen the population of unowned stray and feral 647 cats. 648 649 • Cat owners will be better informed through community education programs, of the 650 impacts cat have on the natural landscapes. This includes free-roaming behaviours, 651 the health risks and how to prevent their cats from impacting the cat population 652 problems. 653 • Reduce the numbers of cats entering shelters and euthanized. 654 • Reducing the number of complaints of nuisance cats in the community. 655 • Providing reduced fees for desexing all cats from the age of 4 months old, all cats 656 are microchipped, registered and contained in cat cages/cat yards or enclosures. 657 • Develop a Federal, State and Local Government management plan, that uses the 658 regulatory powers under the legislation to respond to the impact of cats and the 659 community concerns. 660 661 2. Raising community responsibility and awareness. 662 663 Objective outcome: Programs are designed to engage the widespread community, who 664 are involved in reducing free-roaming domestic cats and reducing the impacts of unowned- 665 stray and feral cats. 666 667 • Increasing the community awareness of the scale of the impacts from cats has on 668 the environment. 669 • Increased number of cat owners are (registering, microchipping, desexing and part 670 of a ‘Vet Check Data base’. 671 • Community awareness can be measured by the number of decreased cases of 672 community driven programs 673 674 3. Management & control of cats. – (Best Practice Techniques). 675 676 Objective outcome: That all scientific information, research and accumulated experience 677 is considered when developing an effective domestic cat controls and a humane cat control 678 method to manage unowned stray and feral cats. 679 680 • What is the problem, how is the problem identified or defined and what is the scale of 681 damage? 682 • Which community groups and stakeholders are identified to participate in the 683 responsibility and the actions required, under the Best Practice techniques? 684 • Are there restraints?, if so identify and define them. A review of the current recovery 685 and catchment documents including impact assessments. 686 • What is currently the best practice for pest eradication management plans. 687 • Which control plans or programs are currently standard? are they measurable over 688 short- and long-term methodologies? Submission: Nicole Galea 25
689 • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) used to plan humane controls for unowned 690 stay or feral cats. 691 692 4. Strategies to reduce impact of cats. - (Conservation values & Agi- 693 business assets. 694 695 Objective outcome: Identify the gaps in the research. This would include detailed scientific 696 knowledge on the physiology of cats, their behaviours and impact on investments or assets. 697 698 • 699 700 5. Legislative frameworks to support all objectives. 701 702 Objective outcome: 703 • ,,,,, 704 • ,,,,,, 705 • 706 6. Distinct responsibilities & roles to cat management. 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731
Submission: Nicole Galea 26
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