Australia's $60 million plan to go to 'war' with invasive predator
Describing feral cats as 'ruthless predators', Australia's environment minister has warned feral cats are pushing native species towards extinction.
Australia has declared it will spend $60 million in its “war” against feral cats. The plan is intended to stop the invasive predators from pushing more native species towards extinction.
Since their introduction in 1788, cats have contributed to the extinction of 27 species, including many of the country’s native rodents and small marsupials. Today they threaten over 200 species and kill around 2.6 billion mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates a year.
“The Albanese Government is serious about protecting our precious native species — and that’s why we’re tackling one of their biggest killers," environment minister Tanya Plibersek said as she announced the new funding on Wednesday.
“Feral cats are dangerous and ruthless predators, pushing our threatened native species like the greater bilby, numbat, and Gilbert’s potoroo, to the brink of extinction. Since declaring war on feral cats, we are mobilising artificial intelligence, cat trap technology and strong community action to combat this invasive pest and safeguard Australia’s biodiversity."
Where will the money be spent?
The money will be directed to 55 locations including the Tiwi Islands, Christmas Island and Naree Station Reserve in NSW to limit the cat’s “pathway of destruction”. Both established and new technologies that incorporate artificial intelligence will be used during the project.
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One recent development is a virtual fence that detects and then deters cats by emitting a high-pitched sound. Other applications will utilise the Felixer technology, which scans cats using lasers and sprays them with toxic gel, to monitor gates and only allow native animals to pass.
Feral cats have long been a concern for federal environment ministers. In a 2019 interview with Yahoo News, the Coalition’s Sussan Ley declared invasive animals the “biggest challenge” to Australia’s native species, and a year later she announced an inquiry into the impact of feral cats. The Albanese Government is currently considering responses to its separate Feral Cat Threat Abatement Plan which is due out later this year with an aim to stop more species being threatened by the predator.
There have long been calls for a cat curfew to be implemented by the federal government as pet cats kill an average of 186 animals a year, mostly native species, according to University of Sydney research. The government's will begin to tackle problems caused by domestic cats by encouraging responsible pet ownership.
Concern over Australia's environment protection laws
The $60 million to fight feral cats was announced as the federal government faces growing questions from conservationists over concerns promised environment protection laws could be watered down.
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They were alarmed after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signalled this week he may limit the power of the nation’s new environmental protection agency (EPA) by preventing it from approving or blocking projects, and instead work with the Coalition on a more business friendly model.
The Albanese Government was elected in 2022 after promising to reform the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act which is designed to protect threatened species.
Two years earlier, an independent review of these nature protection laws by Professor Graeme Samuel was commissioned by Ley. He described the EPBC as often “ineffective”, “weak” and “tokenistic” and called for an “independent” agency to oversee decisions about projects being assessed under the Act.
While this recommendation was rejected by the Morrison Government, the Albanese Government embraced the idea and $121 million in funding for a federal EPA was announced in the May budget.
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