Australian Pesting - a new target?

[ironlion269]

I saw this article online today and wondered if there is likely to be a new pest species in the crosshairs of our Australian Air Gunners?
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/10/05/cats-are-killing-everything-in-australia-and-nobody-knows-what-to-do.html

 

[JimNM]

Pest control is a tough sell when people have such a close tie to the animal in question. I can already see the outcry from the animal lovers (who are clueless about the scope of the local problem).

People are emotionally stupid when it comes to projecting their affection from their loved little fluffy cat and the feral monsters that are devastating the wild life, half a world away.

 

[Windmill01]

Feral cats have been an acute problem here in Australia for a very long time. When I was a young fella we used to go pig hunting with our dogs on friends properties in the outback and our dogs would quite often run across numerous feral cats at water holes etc praying on the wild budgies and finches looking for a drink.

We would often shoot them if we couldn't find any pigs. The RSPCA which is the leading wildlife and animal welfare organisation here has acknowledged that shooting them is the most humane way in the battle against feral cats. 

The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia has advised that the Australian government has decided to cull two million feral cats by 2020 and our Threatened Species Minister has expressed his commitment to help achieve this.

Some people don't like shooting them but the majority of Aussies are behind this. We do have some nutters in politics who don't support eradication of the feral cat population. One of them said that " cats roaming the bush aren't feral, but free-living and deserve equal consideration to the native wildlife they prey on". If that is allowed to continue we won't have many native species left only feral cats.

 

[JimNM]

Yep, I hear you. The internet has made the world very small, and what happens in Australia won't stay in Australia. I fully support shooting ferals, just don't want a bunch of blow back from the anti's.

 

[Mattblum]

Cats are VERY efficient predators. Every place they go feral they are a plague on the land. I like cats but I have no use at all for ferals. I also don't believe in keeping outdoor cats except as barn cats on farms. They just do too much damage.

Reminds me of the folks who would rather let over populated deer starve rather than killing "Bambi".

 

[aa_limited]

i vote for eradifation of feral cats. the more we eradicate every where the better. any one else agree?

 

[Imold]

"aa_limited"i vote for eradifation of feral cats. the more we eradicate every where the better. any one else agree?

+1

 

[Paulcat]

Any introduced species causes problems to the ecology of the land.Australia has some of the greatest stuff ups known to us.Cane toads were to be the savior of the sugarcane industry.The top end is now at their mercy.Rabbits(only 4 pairs released near Geelong in the 1850s)have destroyed most parts of Australias landscape at some stage.Same gentry released foxes on the same hunting proviso and began the wipeout of Australian native fauna.
The feral cat population is the result of lazy owners.We also have a big feral dog problem in the bush.These animals can almost be regarded as apex predators because we don't have any large native carnivores apart from the dingoes which don't match a feral dog in size.
My local council had a cat curfew in place several years ago.10pm to 6 am cats had to be locked away.You could humanely(LIVE) trap them between those hours and turn them into the pound and if identified the owner faced a fine.In the years the program ran no one got a fine.I caught several neighborhood cats.It was pointless.The neighbor hood is has a few less cats now.Feral or pet makes no difference to me.They are not part of the natural order in this land and should be eradicated as is happening on Kangaroo Island.Good riddance.

 

[Alan]

Feral cats are a menace all over the world, and inhabit every major city there in. While some societies eat them, all to many feed them. Here in Roswell, NM, we even have a dedicated group of PITA-loving, blue-haired old ladies who do just that! If they knew what I do when I see one, they'd have a conniption fit! It is indeed amazing what a 25 caliber airgun can do to a cat's physiognomy. 

 

[Paulcat]

A well placed .25 would be an ethical and humane way to do it Alan but PETA and RSPCA seem to think baiting and poisoning is a better option.Like to scopecam an animal suffering a slow poisoning death and invite the treehuggers around for a movie night and convince me the pain of a lead slug behind the ear is going to last more than a second.

 

[intenseaty22]

"Mattblum"Cats are VERY efficient predators. Every place they go feral they are a plague on the land. I like cats but I have no use at all for ferals. I also don't believe in keeping outdoor cats except as barn cats on farms. They just do too much damage.

Reminds me of the folks who would rather let over populated deer starve rather than killing "Bambi".

My neighbors would let their cat out all freaging day. It would pee/poo in my garden and chase the birds all up and down my trees. I never hurt the cat, but I hated that they just let her out to roam. I think the local cayote did me the solid thought. 

 

[wyshadow]

We also have a big feral cat problem here in the states too. I watched a video a few months back about a study of how much damage cats do to the surrounding native land. And if anyone decides to fix the problem, this happens:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/10/19/the-case-of-the-veterinarian-who-shot-a-cat-with-a-bow-and-arrow-then-posed-with-its-body/

Most people are very ignorant when it comes to hunting, pesting, and shooting.

 

[NTSOG]

G'day,

A few years ago I had to deal with a female feral cat and her litter in my sheds - and nasty, hissing, scratching things they are. Even with the little kittens I wore heavy welding gloves to grab them from where their mother hid them. The mother received a .17 HP round from my neighbour as she ran off to hide. I killed the kittens.

Some of the feral cats are growing to over 30 pounds weight. I would happily shoot any cat that came on my farm, but it's hard to tell a feral from a domestic cat. [Anyway they both kill small animals and that should be enough grounds to shoot them.] However if I do shoot a domestic cat by error I could be prosecuted and lose my rifles. I am allowed by Law to shoot any dog that I find harassing my live stock, no questions asked, but 'cuddly' cats are another matter, though they do more damage overall.

Quite a few years ago I read of a company of Australian troops on a training deployment in the middle of Australia being authorised to hunt feral cats in one area that was over-run with them. It was good target practice for the troops and good for the ecology.

Feral cats are an important issue, but I got into strife raising the issue on another air gun site.

Jim

via Ballarat
Australia

 

[Windmill01]

G' day Jim,
Yes its weird isn't it some people just don't want to acknowledge what these ferals do to the native fauna. I suppose one day one of the furry cat brigade will be sitting on the back deck wondering why there aren't any finches, wrens and other small marsupials around.

Gary

 

[NTSOG]

Hi Gary,

You're spot-on about the small bird species vanishing. A couple of years ago we 'inherited' an abandoned cat after some idiots moved out of the area and left it. Really it adopted us and turned out to have an ear tattoo and had been 'fixed'. We kept it indoors as much as possible, especially at night. Even so there was a reduction in the population of little Blue Wrens. The cat caught a nasty disease and died suddenly. After it died the Blue Wrens returned around the house.

Jim

 

[Paulcat]

Jim, if a "domestic cat" harrassed your lambs I think you would be justified in protecting them without fear of prosecution.
Sorry,stupid me.We're in the land of the vocal minority,where common sense seems to be a thing only found in history books. Dogs,any dogs OK. Cats protected.Giving myself a headache.

 

[NTSOG]

Hi Paul,

If I found any animal going after my stock - I no longer run sheep, just cattle and horses - I would shoot them if I caught them in the act. [They can only be shot if in the act of going after stock; a farmer cannot wait for the ranger or Police to come while his stock is being maimed.] However the local council ranger recommended to me six months ago that pictures be taken before shooting [if at all possible] to prove any case, though the legislation about shooting marauding dogs is unconditional. However, as you say, the 'vocal minority' who come to live in the country from suburbia and can often be described as Bambi-lovers would make a fuss if they suddenly found the ranger on their doorstep with the body of their beloved and supposedly harmless Fido and the ranger hit them with severe penalties and also explained that farmers are due compensation for their losses to marauding dogs. In fact it is almost guaranteed that when people come to live in rural areas from suburbia for the first time they will simply let their dogs go because, as one moron said to me years ago after his dog charged my horse and it bolted under a low branch causing me to come off, "I can do any thing I want in the country; I don't have to keep my dog locked up!" The ranger, an ex-cop, took him apart.

Jim

 

[Paulcat]

Less cats,more nice blue tongues to entertain the kids.

 

[NTSOG]

I like Blue Tongue lizards, but it's a pity they like sunning themselves on warm roads.

Jim.

 

[Paulcat]

"NTSOG"I like Blue Tongue lizards, but it's a pity they like sunning themselves on warm roads.

Jim.

That's why she picked him up Jim.And put it in the tiger snake infested long grass.Out of the saucepan and into the fire.