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Inquiry Into the Problem of Feral and Domestic Cats in Australia

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Inquiry Into the Problem of Feral and Domestic Cats in Australia NSW Government Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy Inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia This NSW submission addresses each of the key issues identified in the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry. The prevalence of feral and domestic cats in Australia The population of feral cats in Australia fluctuates between 2.1 million and 6.3 million (Legge et al 2017). However, there is a high level of uncertainty with this estimate – e.g. the 95 per cent confidence interval for the relevant research has an upper limit of 11 million feral cats. Feral cats occur across the entirety of Australia. Legge et al 2017 identified that they are present across 99.8 per cent of Australia’s land area. This is consistent with West and Saunders 2007 and subsequent surveys conducted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), which found that feral cats occur across the entirety of NSW. Feral cat densities vary across various landscapes associated with rainfall and productivity. However, lower densities of feral cats may be just as devastating in lower productivity areas as native prey densities will also be lower in these locations. The impact of feral and domestic cats including on native wildlife and habitats It is estimated that cats are killing more than 1.6 billion native animals every year across Australia. Feral cats kill the vast majority – over 1.4 billion native animals are killed annually by feral cats. The critical question is what has been, and continues to be, the impact of this level of cat predation on our native wildlife populations, especially native mammals. Feral cats are a critical driver of faunal extinctions and declines in Australia. Feral cats have been implicated in the extinction and decline of many Australian mammals (Woinarski et al. 2015; Radford et al. 2018) and some birds (Garnett et al. 2011; Woinarski et al. 2017a) and the decline of some reptiles (Woinarski et al. 2018; Chapple et al. 2019). In terms of context - Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world. More than 30 terrestrial mammal species have been made extinct since European settlement, which represents over 10 per cent of Australia’s original terrestrial mammal fauna. In contrast, only one terrestrial mammal species in North America has become extinct since its European settlement. There are 26 mammal species listed as extinct in NSW. This includes: nine species which are globally (nationally) extinct. seventeen species which are listed as extinct in NSW but which survive elsewhere in Australia and can be reintroduced to NSW. In total, 60 per cent of all NSW mammal species are listed as threatened (Source: NSW State of the Environment Report 2018). The ongoing risk to our biodiversity generally is reflected in the findings of the NSW State of the Environment Report 2018 which includes the following statements: “A general pattern of long-term decline in biodiversity is evident in reductions to the range or abundance of many native vertebrate species.” “The number of species considered at risk of extinction continues to rise.” Many extant Australian species, particularly mammals, have current distributions and population sizes that comprise only a minute proportion of their former range and abundance (Woinarski et al., 2015). For our mammal fauna, which has suffered the most substantial decline of any faunal group, feral cats and foxes are identified as the greatest threat, along with changed fire regimes. (Source: Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012, CSIRO Publishing). The effective management of feral predators – cats and foxes – is essential to prevent the ongoing decline, and provide for the recovery of, many of our most threatened species, especially mammals and ground-dwelling birds. The impact of cats has been documented in a series of published scientific papers. Across Australia, cats kill over 1.6 billion native animals every year – of this amount, feral cats kill over 1.4 billion. Cats kill: o 509 million native mammals (459 million native mammals are killed by feral cats) (Murphy et al 2019); o 649* million reptiles (596 million reptiles are killed by feral cats) (Woinarski et al 2018); o 377* million birds (316 million birds are killed by feral cats) (Woinarski et al 2017); o 93 million frogs (92 million frogs are killed by feral cats) (Woinarski et al 2020). * Over 99% are native species. Feral cats are live prey specialists (which often limits the effectiveness of baiting). Feral cats kill native animals even when they don’t need to eat. Feral cats kill a wide range of prey – one analysis concluded that cats prey on at least 400 native and introduced vertebrates in Australia, including 123 birds, 157 reptiles, 58 marsupials, 27 rodents and 21 frogs. Gut analysis from more than 100 cats, as part of a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service south coast program, showed cats eating smoky mouse, eastern-pygmy possum, feather-tailed glider, antechinus, bandicoots, potoroos and possums. In NSW they are thought to impact 117 threatened species, more than any other feral animal species (Coutts-Smith et al 2007). Feral cats are listed as a key threatening process under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as well as the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The effectiveness of current legislative and regulatory approaches In NSW, feral cats are identified as a priority pest animal in all 11 Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plans (https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/help-and-advice/pests,-weeds-and-diseases/pest- control/regional-strategic-pest-animal-management). All private and public land managers have a general biosecurity duty, under the Biosecurity Act 2015, to take all practicable measures to minimise the risk of any negative impacts by feral cats on their land, or neighbouring lands. Legislative reform is unlikely to provide a remedy which will limit and reduce the impact of feral cats. The main issue preventing more effective feral cat control in NSW is the lack of an effective broadscale technique. Research is underway to help identify improved feral cat control strategies. The effectiveness of Commonwealth action and cooperation with states and territories on this issue, including progress made under the Threat Abatement Plan, national framework and national declaration relating to feral and domestic cats in Australia The National Feral Cat Taskforce and the EIC Terrestrial Vertebrate Pest Working Group provide valuable opportunities for coordination and communication on feral cat management amongst the various states, territories and commonwealth government departments. They have allowed for increased collaboration and understanding across jurisdictions that has led to more efficient use of research resources required to improve feral cat management. Making best use of the funding available to develop effective broadscale feral cat control techniques is an important component in improving our ability to manage the impacts of feral cats. The efficacy (in terms of reducing the impact of cats), cost effectiveness and use of current and emerging methods and tools for controlling feral cats including baiting, the establishment of feral cat-free areas using conservation fencing, gene drive technology There is currently no landscape-scale technique or strategy that will deliver effective feral cat management, other than conservation fencing to establish large feral cat-free areas (see below). Techniques such as trapping and shooting can remove individual cats, and in some cases can deliver short-term localised control. However, they cannot permanently suppress feral cat numbers at a landscape scale to a level that allows the restoration of populations of our most susceptible native species. Similarly, baiting is not yet a proven, effective landscape-scale strategy in NSW. NSW is investing in improving monitoring techniques for feral cats as part of research designed to improve the effectiveness of feral cat control, including baiting. In particular, the University of New England, in partnership with the Department of Primary industries and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), is undertaking a five year $30M Environmental Trust Major Project. This is the largest investment in feral cat research ever undertaken in NSW. More information can be found at: https://www.une.edu.au/about-une/faculty-of-science-agriculture- business-and-law/school-of-environmental-and-rural-science/research/life-earth-and- environment/feral-cat-project. Establishing feral cat-free areas using conservation fencing A recent analysis by the NESP National Threatened Species Recovery (TSR) Hub (a consortium of leading science institutions funded by the Federal Government) noted that the establishment of feral predator-free areas is an essential component of any strategy to prevent further extinctions and promote the recovery of our most susceptible mammal species. This reflects a broad scientific consensus that other strategies – such as baiting – can deliver ecological benefits in some cases but are generally not able to reduce feral cat densities to a level that will promote the sustained recovery and reintroduction of our most susceptible mammals. The TSR analysis stated: “A network of islands and enclosures that are free of introduced predators is a necessary complement to the conventional reserve system, and is required in the short to medium-term to prevent extinction of predator-susceptible
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