Kangaroo Island Council proposes total cat ban amid fight to eradicate feral predators
The council of Australia’s third largest island is considering a blanket ban on owning pet cats in their fight to save endangered species in a pristine paradise.
The Kangaroo Island Council in South Australia has been fighting against feral cats that have been maiming native wildlife since 2015.
Spanning an area six times larger than Singapore and boasting more native plants than any other part of South Australia, the island is home to numerous indigenous ecosystems.
The council is currently considering a ban on introducing new pets to the island as part of a joint eradication project.
Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said the “latest cat policy” was being carefully considered by the council to ” rid Kangaroo Island of (feral) cats and not allow any more cats in”.
“That doesn’t mean the grandma with the cat is going to lose it overnight, that’s just not going to happen,” Mayor Pengilly said.
“But remember, the moment a cat leaves the house, it turns into a wild animal.” he said.
Implementation of the policy could take up to 30 years as it is “not that far advanced” and will be “in conjunction” with the state government.
The council aims to completely rid the island of invasive species by 2030.
If this goal is achieved, Kangaroo Island will become one of the largest inhabited islands in the world free of feral cats.
“It’s very simple to think we can make this happen, because it’s not that simple. It could take 10, 20, 30 years to achieve an ideal outcome, I don’t know.” he said.
Jack Gough, chairman of the Invasive Species Council, warned that domestic cats could be a problem for the project.
“One of the biggest risks is that a few people have a few unregistered, unsexed cats that go out and have kittens.
“Then you start the process over again, and no one wants to do that when they’ve spent millions of dollars to get to that point.” he said.
According to Mayor Pengilly, feral cats have a “tremendous” contribution to reducing annual sheep production by around $12 million through diseases such as toxoplasmosis, a parasite that can cause major reproductive losses in sheep.
“These are terrible things, so we have to do something about it… they are extremely skilled killers,” he said.
The eastern region of the island has almost completely eliminated feral cats from the Dudley Peninsula as part of an ambitious ongoing removal project with Kangaroo Island Council.
“There is an opportunity for dunnarts, echidnas, penguins, sea lions and all the endangered native wildlife out there to eliminate these cats for good,” Mr Gough said.
So far, only 150 cats remain and 2,800 cats have been removed.
“From those 150, they expect a 95 percent reduction in the cat population this winter, but then it takes another two years of concentrated effort to get that to zero, keep it at zero, and verify it at zero.” Mr Gough said.
In December of last year, the project received $1.61 million from the federal government, but the Invasive Species Council said another $3.1 million was needed to fully fund the largest feral cat removal project ever undertaken on an inhabited island anywhere in the world.
“Ferral cats are the biggest cause of animal extinction in Australia and seriously threaten the island’s wildlife, including the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart and vulnerable little penguin colonies.” Mr Gough said in a statement.
In early March the Dudley Peninsula project received $800,000 in funding, with the Invasive Species Council recognizing it would help “South Australia remain at the forefront of one of the most significant conservation achievements in our nation’s history”.
The additional $1.61 million represents “a significant additional investment in this project, in addition to the more than $3 million previously provided through our Saving Native Species and National Heritage Foundation programs,” a spokesperson for the federal government told the ABC.
