Carnarvon resident Narelle Kenny regularly heads out to the areas she describes as hotspots and sets pedal trigger traps to capture feral cats.
Key points:
- The federal government has released a draft feral cat action plan
- Feral cat numbers have surged in the Carnarvon region
- Local rangers captured 27 feral cats in two months
“Each suburb ends up with a hotspot, and it’s not particular people that are creating that hotspot, it’s usually a zone where they’ve got shelter,” she said.
“The last big run was like 60 [feral cats] out of two different properties.
“They’re sick, they’re infested, it’s heartbreaking.”
Feral cats kill about two billion animals each year in Australia.
The federal government has released a draft action plan with the aim of stopping the devastating impact the predators have on native species.
Reducing the number of feral and free roaming pet cats in towns and communities was among its objectives.
Change of approach
WA Feral Cat Working Group member Bruce Webber said defining stray cats as subset of feral cats was welcome.
“The really interesting thing that this report does is that it splits cats into two definitions in Australia, whereas previously we’ve usually used three; feral, stray and pet,” he said.
“In this case, it takes a progressive approach and recognises that essentially if a cat is unowned; a stray cat or a feral cat, then those cats should be dispatched in the most humane way possible.
“This is where responsible cat ownership and responsible cat management is moving.”
Increased numbers
Carnarvon animal rescue organisation coordinator Mary Geyer is the coordinator said the number of feral cats in the area was the highest she had seen in 15 years.
“There’s been an explosion of feral cats, and I do mean an explosion, they’re everywhere,” Ms Geyer said.
“I’m actually getting phone calls from travellers who are just driving and call me up saying, ‘oh my god, people have been dumping cats out here, you’ve got to come and help them’.
“They’re ferals, they’re not pets who have been dumped.”
Local shire rangers captured 27 feral cats in May and June.
The shire also hires out four cat traps, and there is a waiting list of people wanting to use the equipment.
Ms Kenny said there was a noticeable difference when they returned to areas where they had done extensive trapping months earlier.
“When we first went out there besides the odd cat movement, there was silence,” she said.
“We went back out to do a bit of a clear run to see what was left there and there was snake movement, lizard movement, bird movement, and that’s how quick the environment did come back from them just being removed at that hot zone.”
The WA government announced in June it was spending $7.6 million over four years on a strategy to reduce the number and impact of feral cats.
It included aerial baiting and the use of Felixer devices, which use lasers and cameras to distinguish feral cats from wildlife, spraying them with a toxic gel.
