- Exclusive
- National
- WA
- Local government
From pets to pests: Footage from WA bush proves how fast cats turn feral
“Kittens free to a good home”.
That was a sign spotted by Peter Lacey, a nature conservation officer for the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, plastered on a noticeboard at a roadhouse in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, alongside a photograph of the three available felines.
Several months later, Lacey spotted those kittens again, this time on a camera trap, roaming and now feral in habitat for endangered and vulnerable native species including numbats, chuditch and bilbies.
He had been filming a possible bilby burrow on his own property in the Dryandra woodlands, around two kilometres from the roadhouse.
Lacey said he knew the cats were the same as they had very distinct markings – one ginger, one tabby and one black and white.
He said it was proof domesticated cats could turn feral in the span of just a few weeks, posing significant risk to wildlife.
For example, Lacey said the population of a monitored subset of numbats in the area saw a 50 per cent decline in numbers due to feral cats.
“That is significant when you have a threatened species in the low hundreds,” he said.
“As quick as you can remove cats, others can move in.”
Bruce Webber, from the WA Feral Cats Working Group, said this was a key reason the state government should allow councils to introduce laws that would force cat owners to keep them contained to their property.
A feral cat in Dryandra, WA.Credit: Lyn Alcock
More than 20 local governments have now tried to implement permanent cat containment laws since 2014, some more than once, but have been disallowed by a government committee that reviews shires’ legislation against the state Cat Act.
Most recently, the City of Bayswater and the Shire of Pingelly (where the three feral cats above were spotted) were knocked back.
“For every month that we delay laws to prevent pet cats from roaming, we effectively endorse poor animal welfare outcomes for pet cats, enable the deaths of millions of native animals, and increase the risk of human illness and deaths from cat-borne diseases,” Webber said.
“Local governments cannot be left in the current situation, where they have to run the gauntlet with a committee whose fringe legal views are causing so much frustration.”
WA and NSW are the only states in Australia where local governments do not have a clear pathway to introduce local laws that prevent pet cats from roaming.
Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley requested a working group, including Webber, to understand current desire among local governments to implement cat containment laws.
It found almost 80 per cent are supportive of change. Beazley was contacted for comment.
Feral cats have lead to the extinction of 27 species Australia-wide.
There’s proof containing cats works
Down in the South West, the conclusion of a five-year project has proved the importance of controlling feral cats and other invasive species, and the boon it gives native wildlife.
Bush Heritage Australia’s Fitz-Stirling Fauna Recovery Project was set up across 50,000 hectares to help native species struggling under the predation pressure of feral cats, as well as foxes.
Fitz-Stirling project officer Jeff Pinder said during the five years, they had seen the tammar wallaby return for the first time in 14 years to the Monjebup North Reserve.
A chuditch was also spotted for the first time ever on that reserve, and malleefowl numbers anecdotally increased across the region.
“The sheer size of the feral cat problem makes managing them incredibly difficult,” Pinder said.
“Feral cats don’t see property boundaries and even when we do successfully remove feral cats from a landscape, new individuals can easily invade from surrounding areas.
“We saw this happening again and again throughout our Fauna Recovery Project in the southwest.”
He said the conclusion of the project offered timely, real-world insights into the scale of the feral cat problem and the importance of landscape-level collaboration.
He also said cat containment laws would help cut off the supply of cats turing feral, making it easier for recovery projects to manage.
“If we fail to address key sources of feral cats – including roaming domestic cats, strays and dumped kittens – we cannot possibly hope to get ahead of this challenge out in our natural landscapes,” he said.
“But we are in it for the long haul, we cannot eradicate feral cats entirely, but we can keep numbers to a low enough threshhold whereby native species can not just exist, but flourish.
“There are over 200 nationally threatened species around the country who are counting on us to address feral cat predation to help safeguard their future.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.