Feral Cats are our ‘problem’

The NSW ­Department of Primary Industries has undertaken an investigation of the true impact of feral cats on Australian Wildlife.  Fifty cats were fitted with tracking devices and tracked over their stomping grounds

Fifty cats were fitted with tracking devices and tracked over their stomping grounds to see what damage they are doing.  Experts believe that not only are the cats destroying the local ecosystem but they are also transmitting disease to livestock that grazes near their territories.

The diets of the tracked cats has shown that the cats regularly feast on native birds and lizards but have also been recorded taking baby wallabies.

Dr Guy Ballard, a researcher for the Department Invasive Species, told The Daily Telegraph, “We’ve seen a cat take a juvenile threatened bush tail wallaby — just grabbed it and ran. Some of the cats we have seen are as big as foxes, and they are eating everything from mammals to birds to reptiles”.

While there is a lot of hate thrown on the cats for what they are doing, Dr Ballard makes the point, “It is not their fault they are a problem, it is ours”.

The NSW government is talking up options of what to do about the cats, but it is a growing problem not only in NSW but for the rest of the country.

What do you think should be done with feral cats?  Have you had any experiences with the cats?