Feral cat eredication - how?

According to the book 'Elsewhere Fine', back in the late 1800's the WA government of the day was shipping and releasing cats into the wild rabbit control.

Bring back the Pussy Willow near William Creek.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PMKNext trip please..............................................

Moose
1080 is the most prefured way in wa to kill feral cats ,as it has little effect on native wild life the problem withits use for cats is that they like to catch or eat fresh meat thus making baiting hard, the otherproblem is that you can not just eradicate a preditor as such it has to be done in such away that no other spiecies is able to dominate the local enviroment to the detriment of all others,so iradication in some cases has to be done along side the reintriduction of native spiecies ie preditor species so as to maintian the balance . i would if you are interested in helping in this arer ,talk to the land manager in your state
regards Bruce

I’m going to regret getting involved in a subject like this I can see but here are a few pointers. We have had and will again have cat problems on the farm and surrounding reserves, we get rid of them when there is a noticeable difference in numbers and or wild life are being affected, which is not always the case, some of our little fury natives get cunning and manage ovoid confrontations with the non natives be it cats / dogs. We doing it quickly, to our ability humanely and discreetly, minimizing stress to animal/environment/public. I say the public as well because it’s distressing for children etc to witness the expiring of an animal regardless of what it is. The use of poisons is in my opinion only an option for the extreme cases
My father mainly and a couple of time myself have used them years ago for rabbits etc and really no animal deserves to die that way. It’s an unkindly end to an unfortunate situation. Some times there’s real bleep ty jobs to do but we still have to have a heart. Also poisons in the hands of too many people is not a safe way of doing things, we have a poison registrar and have to follow it strictly to minimize or hopefully prevent mishaps. Education of the public and ownership might not be as effective but would be my preferred option.

All the best

Bill

CALM in Western Australia has put in considerable research into this area as part of Operation Western Shield. Cats are extremely intellegent creatures that are not easliy fooled by a 1080 bait thrown at random from an aeroplane or vehicle as these baits are generally dried meat which they find generally unpalatable.

In areas were concentrated baiting has occured (Peronbleepular), fox numbers have decreased, but cat numbers have increased significantly in their absence and their cunning nature has made eradication using conventional methods almost pointless and extremely costly.

Travellers assisting in the eradication sounds like a good idea in principle, but the idea of leaving baits etc around old camp sites could be a recipe for disaster of another kind.

I think its an unfortunate fact that only a small proportion of cats actually living in the wild are ever seen by man, or make thenselves obvious, so the idea of complete eradication is probably never going to occur.

Just like rabbits, I think we will have to learn to live with them, and learning to limit their numbers is probably the best we can hope for.

I did hear a few months ago that CALM were trialling a new type of bait at Peron, but have not heard sure how successful it is.

Of just as much concern is the deliberate introduction of foxes into Tasmania by misguided individuals who amongst other things apparently hoped it would see an easing of firearms restrictions.

Release feral dogs, they will eat the cats...
no problem..

I have heard about the WA CALM project and they were using a very specific salami as cats are v.fussy.
It's interesting to note that feral cats have been around Western Aust for a lot longer than penal settlement.
The first feral cats were from the Dutch on the West coast and they are a greyish short haired moggy which are fairly common here in the Western Deserts long b4 these areas were entered by Europeans. So much so that the Luritja/Pintubi name for them is Ngaya. They are hunted traditionally by the elder women who track and then chase for about 1-2k's b4 cornering them. Good bush medicine and of course eating.
Also there was an ABC? doco on feral cats that was very well done.
As for what can we do, well run em over if you get a chance, or if the landscape permits chase them for a bit as they tire very easily.

Im doing my bit by fitting wider tyres to my rig but now i need a turbo as they always get away before i swerve?
maybe a scoop with spikes on the front?
TIC1999 NISSAN NAVARA DUALCAB
DIESEL 3.2 & SPRINGY CARLTON TOY
2 awestruck kids (dads driving!)

And I was about to comment on how senisble this thread was being dealt with.
I think I'll go and give myself a good licking, have a bowl of whiskers and go back to bed.