Calls for major change over 'silent' threat in Aussie suburbs: 'Very effective killers'
Roughly 70 per cent of cat owners will let their pets roam, and it is having a 'huge' impact on native wildlife.
There are fresh calls to implement more responsible pet ownership in one Aussie state after damning new data revealed the "devastating" impact roaming cats have on native wildlife throughout city suburbs.
Unlike many other states and territories, including Victoria and the ACT, New South Wales does not enforce cat containment which keeps pet cats inside their homes. "‘Councils across the state are crying out for this amendment so that they can protect their local bushland from the enormous impacts of roaming pet cats," Jack Gough from the Invasive Species Council told Yahoo News.
Data shows there are just over a million cats owned by residents in the Greater Sydney area, and about 70 per cent of owners will let them roam. Alarmingly, around 80 per cent of those cats will hunt and kill wildlife.
Collectively, roaming pet cats kill 546 million animals per year in Australia of which 323 million are native, the Invasive Species Council revealed. On average, each roaming, hunting pet cat kills more than three animals every week — a total of 186 animals per year. This number includes 110 native animals, including 40 reptiles, 38 birds and 32 mammals.
Roaming cats known to 'harass and kill' native wildlife
Speaking of the issue this week, Gough said because so many people let their cats out to roam, "the toll in Sydney in terms of our wildlife is huge". "Hundreds of thousands of roaming pet cats are sending our suburbs silent," he said
"It means that the level of wildlife that we're seeing in our suburbs is actually a lot lower than what we would if people didn't have their pets out roaming the streets. Cats are very effective hunters and killers and there’s a very broad range of species they target," he added.
They’ll attack and kill lizards, frogs and small mammals including sugar gliders or possums. Cats are also known to “harass and kill” a range of bird species either by catching and killing them, or “forcing them off their nests” meaning they abandon their young due to harassment.
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A 'shift in culture' around cats could help fix the problem
Alarmingly, contrary to popular belief, the level of devastation in the suburbs is "a lot higher than feral cats living in the bush, because we artificially keep the population higher," he explained. "So the per square kilometre impact of cats in the suburbs is 30 to 50 times higher than what you're getting in the bush."
To help fix the problem, "we need a shift in our culture" in the same way there's been one around dogs, Gough argued.
“If you go back 50 years in Australia, there'd be a lot more roaming dogs. We don't get that anymore because the culture has changed, the rules have changed, and people now keep their dogs contained," he said. "A similar change needs to happen when it comes to cats".
Calls for state government to implement new rules
Currently, NSW and Western Australia state laws prohibit individual councils from introducing their own cat containment rules. The Invasive Species Council is calling on the NSW government to update the outdated 1998 Companion Animal Act and allow councils the power to implement 24/7 cat containment.
"It's something that needs to change, and it needs to change from the top," he said. A NSW feral cat inquiry, which commenced on October 11, is set to close this week.
He said the change will be "best for both pet cats and wildlife". When it comes to cats that are kept contained at home, they tend to live about 10 years longer than cats that are allowed to roam because they avoid car accidents and fights and disease," Goughs said.
"Owning a pet cat should come with clear responsibilities to ensure your pet is not roaming around killing our native birds, mammals, reptiles and frogs.
"It's about responsible pet ownership and we know cats that are kept indoors are happy cats and they're safe cats."
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