In Australia, the lives of millions of feral cats – domestic cats that live with little or no human contact. They are made for the extinction of many native species, responsible. In the ranking of the invasive threat, the cats come in at rank 3, behind the European rabbit and the domestic pig.
According to a June 2018 published study of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub, the wild cats kill on the continent per year, a total of 650 million reptiles. In 2017, a study by the same researchers had shown that feral cats kill in Australia, one Million birds, including endangered species.
The Threatened Species Recovery Hub is supported by the government and scientific, of the ten leading universities in Australia and the conservation authority carried. According to the latest report from February 2019 to the scattering of the threatening cats in Australia 123 native species, especially mammals, reptiles and birds.
40 lizards in a cat’s stomach
Since European settlers ‘ cats in the 17th century. A century after Australia brought with them, to be extinct, some species of reptiles entirely. “On average, each feral cat kills 225 reptiles per year,” says the study leader, John Woinarski of Australia’s Charles Darwin University.
Since there are no exact Figures on the reptile populations, it is necessary to measure the exact extent of the threat difficult. The Australian authorities have, however, taken measures for the protection of reptiles.
“Some cats, many reptiles eat amazing.” The researchers have found many examples of regular binge Eating, added Woinarski. “The record of the stomach 40 lizards in a single Cat.”
The scientists studied for the 2018 study published more than 10’000 food samples from feral cats, which had been collected from experts around the country.
It turned out that the diet of the animals, 250 different species of reptiles – including Great desert Skinks, bearded dragons and Geckos. Eleven endangered species are the feral cats eaten reptiles.
Two million cats kill
an area in the desert, an electric fence was erected to create a cat-free Zone. There endangered to be able to native animals undisturbed to multiply. But this is only a measure to protect the Australian species.
at the same time, the Population of cats is to be reduced drastically. By 2020, the Australian government wants two million of the popular Pets kill. In setting this goal, it was in a estimate of the year 2015 of up to 18 million people on the continent living, wild cats. These Figures were, however, corrected now, actually it should be only about 6 million of the four-legged friends.
83 percent are shot down
The decimation of the target, however, was adapted to never. For the past two years, the feral cats are killed systematically. Daily hunter sprinkle witnesses thousands of poisoned bait across the Hinterland, including through the use of flight. As a corollary, to be killed at the same time, European foxes, also introduced problem species. Hunters also have Traps and shooting cats with guns or bow and arrow. The launch is so far the most promising – in the first year, five have been fired from six killed by predators, although hunters are also farmers in a large part contributed to, as the “New York Times Magazine,” writes.
A reporter for the newspaper has been accompanied in Australia cat researchers, zoologists when attempting to the observed re-establishment of endangered species and several cat hunts documented. She has spoken with scientists who try trackers with GPS to understand the behavior of the animals in the Australian Wilderness and the impact on the native species diversity to estimate. She met the man that makes sausages, the Gift, which will be dropped on the continent. And she went with members of sport clubs to protect night-time Stalking. These clubs have in Australia influence and organized it means for the hunt for “unwanted animals” – quite successfully, as in the report in the “Times Magazine”.
to doubt the effectiveness of
The decimation of the strays is in many places seen, however. As, the government 2015 presented for the first time, plans, languages, animal rights activists of cat genocide, and especially the owners of the approximately 2.7 million domestic cats in Australia were not pleased. They feared that their favorites could be mistaken as a stray, or poisoned shot. The outrage, petitions and campaigns on social media, taking advantage of that but nothing, the government stuck to their plans – two million walkers have to go up to 2020.
In February 2019 published five Australian ecology researchers to make their findings, and accused the government that the eradication plans are based on a weak scientific base. So you have estimated the number of wild cats wrong, you could check the progress of the decimation hardly reliable, and the goal of the two million killed by cats was not linked to an actual improvement for the Fauna.
The scientists accuse the government that the cat’s destruction was a diversion to hide a far more important threat to biodiversity: the man-made loss of habitat through deforestation and mining.
Will reached the goal of two million killed cats, not hot, therefore, that in order for something for the endangered species was made, the researchers say. For them, the decimation of the plan is motivated purely political, the government stemple, the wild cats of the culprits for species loss, the many causes.
“xenophobia,”
From the reporter of the “New York Times” is a biologist, Daniel Ramp even a step further. He is the Director of the Centre for Compassionate Conservation in Sydney, Australia. He speaks of “xenophobia” against the immigrant species. It is amazing how much hatred there is.
Australia would prefer to accept that the feral cats are now a part of the Ecosystem, rather than a condition from times long past restore. Such interference of the people was arbitrary.
the Ramp is also of the opinion that the native species are not at the mercy of the cats out of the game. Rather, the attempt of the people to save the native species have made them vulnerable to the greater Predator. (anf/sda/afp)
Created: 29.04.2019, 17:12 PM
