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ISSN 1838-0417
ERADICATE
definition: (v) to completely remove a pest from an area
Image: Daryl Panther
a newsletter for the
Invasive Species Branch
ISSUE 12
SPECIAL CAT MANAGEMENT ISSUE
www.dpipwe .tas.gov.au/invasivespecies
Stop the Spread: Feral cats
Tasmania’s Cat Management Act 2009 outlines the authority
and responsibilities for the management of cats in Tasmania. It
provides land owners and managers with the capacity to control
cats found in prescribed rural, remote and prohibited areas. The
Act also requires domestic cat owners to microchip and desex
their cats.
What is a feral cat?
A feral cat is a free-living cat which
has only minimal or no reliance on
humans, and which survives in selfsustaining populations. Feral cats are
different from stray cats, which partly
rely on humans for food and shelter
(which may or may not be provided
intentionally).
Feral cat impacts
Feral cats are good hunters that
are commonly thought to have a
negative impact on native species,
primarily through predation.
However, only very limited research
has examined feral cat impacts,
especially in Tasmania, and the true
level of impact is not clear.
Feral cats have been shown to
have damaging impacts on isolated
wildlife populations, such as those on
offshore islands. They have also been
identified as a factor in the failure of
some endangered species recovery
programs. Research shows that feral
cats may have positive impacts in
some areas by controlling rabbit
and rodent numbers, limiting the
environmental impacts from these
animals.
cats is possible with careful planning
and coordinated effort. Conventional
control techniques of trapping and
shooting have been successful in
eradicating feral cats from some
offshore islands around Australia.
Any control effort should be focused
on managing impacts rather than
overall feral cat numbers. Defined
management outcomes should
identify the natural or economic
values that are to be protected
and program success should be
measured against these outcomes.
Effective, long-term management
of feral cat impacts will also require
management of the domestic cat
population to prevent recruitment
of cats from the domestic to feral
population.
IN THIS ISSUE
• Taking action to manage cats
Management options
• Your invasive questions
The effective management of feral
cats requires collaborative effort
across property boundaries. While
the eradication of feral cats from
mainland Tasmania is not feasible,
controlling the local impact of feral
• Are cats always the villain?
Caught on camera.
Depar tment of
Pr imar y Industr ies, Par ks, Water and Environment
• Tasmania’s Feral Cat Management
Strategy
• Reviewing Tasmania’s cat laws
• WA cat law update
Taking action
to manage
cats
Feral cats present a big
problem across Australia but
here in Tasmania a number
of stakeholders are getting
their claws into the issue with
positive results.
In southern Tasmania, Kingborough
Council has been working closely
with other stakeholders to ensure
the effective management of cats,
both feral and domestic, in their
community.
In a recent community survey, it was
found that Kingborough residents
had a high level of awareness about
cat management issues and were
proactive in taking action to manage
cat impacts. Of the households
surveyed, 24% had at least one cat
and most people reported that their
cats were desexed. Only 5% of cat
owning households reported having
an unwanted litter of kittens.
Your invasive
questions
In this forum we address
your questions about cat
management in Tasmania.
It was also found that there
was strong support within the
community for increased cat control
measures including compulsory
microchipping and desexing of cats,
limiting the number of cats per
household, and cat-free zones in
certain areas.
The Kingborough Council has
also produced two public service
announcement ads for TV to
promote the importance of
microchipping and desexing pet cats.
These ads are currently being shown
across Tasmania.
With the community working
together, Tasmania looks set to land
on its feet in managing the welfare
of domestic cats while reducing the
negative impacts of feral cats on the
environment.
Reducing the number of
unwanted kittens through
desexing of domestic cats is vital
to stop a source of recruitment
for the feral cat population.
Many other councils are also taking
positive measures to manage cats
in their communities, including
Latrobe Council, which has had cat
management by-laws in place since
2006, and Central Coast Council,
Image Daryl Panther.
Q. Can I trap a stray or trespassing cat
on my property?
Q. Can I get assistance to cover the
cost of desexing a cat?
A. Under the Cat Management Act
2009, a landowner may trap a cat on
their property if the property is:
A. There are a number of places that
offer reduced-fee desexing of cats
for those in financial need. Contact
your local vet, cat centre or the
RSPCA to see if they provide any
assistance. Some organisations, such
as the RSPCA, also offer low cost cat
desexing to concession card holders.
A. Yes, under the Cat Management
Act 2009 a person must not breed
cats unless they are a registered
breeder and severe penalties apply.
• being used for primary
production relating to livestock
on rural land; or,
• more than one kilometre from
the nearest residence; or,
• subject to a conservation
covenant under the Nature
Conservation Act 2002.
DPIPWE manages cat breeder
registrations and further information
can be obtained by calling
03 6336 5320 or emailing
[email protected]
In general, if you live in an urban area
and have a problem with cats on
your property it is recommended
that you first speak with your local
council.
Q. Do you need to be registered to
breed cats in Tasmania?
which recently worked with local
veterinarians to offer its residents
a subsidised microchipping and
desexing program.
The National Desexing Network
may also be able to help find a
veterinarian in your area who will
desex your cat at a reduced fee. For
further information visit
www.ndn.org.au
Tasmania’s
Feral Cat
Management
Strategy
In a collaborative project,
the Invasive Species Branch
and key stakeholders have
been working together in
developing a formal strategy
for the management of feral
cats in Tasmania.
Feral cat distribution
in Tasmania
This map shows all feral cat records for Tasmania from
the Atlas of Living Australia database (www.ala.org.au).
Image produced on 27 Sep 2013.
The ultimate goal of this work is
to ensure that all efforts in feral
cat management are achieving the
greatest benefit for stakeholders, the
community and, most importantly,
the Tasmanian environment.
The Feral Cat Management Strategy
aligns with the National Feral Cat
Threat Abatement Plan and the
Australian Pest Animal Strategy. It
recognises that the management
of feral cats requires effective
coordination and cooperation by a
range of stakeholders, including all
levels of government, cat owners,
animal welfare agencies and the
community, and must be built on
sound, evidence-based decision
making.
While the eradication of feral cats
from mainland Tasmania is not
feasible, positive results in feral cat
management can be achieved locally.
This requires carefully planned
and targeted programs using best
practice tools and techniques, run
by stakeholders that have a good
understanding of feral cat impacts
and ecology.
The Feral Cat Management Strategy
is expected to be finalised by late
2013 and will be available from the
ISB website at
www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/invasivespecies
Gathering
baseline data
Very little is known about feral
cat impacts in Tasmania. Gathering
baseline data about feral cat
distribution and impacts will be vital
for more effective management
practices.
The motion camera images shown
here are from an ISB monitoring
program undertaken in a Tasmanian
penguin rookery.
Are cats
always the
villain?
Feral cats and foxes are often
condemned as the cause
of the decline of numerous
native species in Australia –
but could these invasive pests
also be the saviour of some?
New research suggests that on
Australian islands, feral cats and
foxes help control an even more
destructive pest, the black rat.
To work out which invasive species
were doing the most damage, the
Australian National University in
Canberra created and analysed a
database of all available research and
found that native mammals were
most likely to die off on islands that
had rats, but not islands with cats,
foxes or dingoes. As a result, they
identified that in some situations
eliminating feral cats and foxes could
ultimately leave native mammals
more vulnerable to predation,
competition, and ultimately
extinction.
Reviewing
Tasmania’s Cat
Laws
To plan successful eradication
campaigns, managers must first
understand how introduced
predators interact with native fauna
and with each other. For instance,
cats and foxes are infamous for
hunting birds and other wildlife, but
they can also control rats, which are
also ferocious killers and compete
with native animals like bandicoots.
One year after Tasmania’s new
cat management laws began the
Department of Primary Industries, Parks,
Water and Environment is taking the
opportunity to assess the effectiveness
of the legislation through a formal
review.
The review will give stakeholders the
opportunity to provide feedback on the
existing legislation and to suggest any
areas where they feel there could be
improvements.
To date, few studies have looked at
which type of predator is actually
most likely to drive native animals
extinct. Without first gaining this
understanding, eradication efforts
can run the risk of resulting in
some unexpected and unwanted
consequences.
Specifically, the review aims to:
• assess the adequacy of existing
management arrangements under the
Cat Management Act 2009 and Cat
Management Regulations 2012;
• identify inconsistencies or gaps in the
legislation; and
• identify responsibilities and expectations
of major stakeholders.
Reference: Hanna, E. and Cardillo, M.
(2013). Island mammal extinctions
are determined by interactive effects
of life history, island biogeography and
mesopredator suppression. Global
Ecology and Biogeography. doi: 10.1111/
geb.12103.
Effective cat management requires
collaborative community effort and
the review is part of the Tasmanian
Government’s commitment to working
with stakeholders to ensure Tasmania
has the best possible legislation for cat
control and management.
This emphasises the need to take
a landscape-based approach to
managing invasive species and
consider how controlling one animal
might have flow-on effects to others.
WA cat law
update
Image Daryl Panther.
Invasive Species Branch
PO Box 46 Kings Meadows TAS 7249
T: 03 6336 5320 F: 03 6336 5453
E: invasivespecies@dpipwe .tas.gov.au
W: www.dpipwe .tas.gov.au/invasivespecies
‘Like’ the Tasmanian Invasive Species
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updates on invasive species issues in
Tasmania.
Following a two year lead-in period,
Western Australia’s Cat Act 2011 takes
full effect from 1 November 2013.
From this date, all domestic cats over
six months of age are required to be
sterilised, microchipped and registered
with local government. To help identify
owned cats, they will also need to wear
a collar and registration tag.
Website
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Feral cats and foxes have been the
targets of numerous governmentbacked control programs with some
varied results. This might in part
come down to our understanding of
the ecosystems involved.
The ISB began contacting stakeholders
for feedback in September and will
also ask stakeholders to comment on
a discussion paper to be distributed
early next year. The review process is
expected to be completed by mid-2014.
Local governments will be responsible
for administering and enforcing the
legislation in Western Australia.