Cat meat is quite popular in parts of Asia and there is a good market for cat fur in China and Korea. Perhaps there is a chance for Australian entrepreneurs to not only take advantage of these markets and help the control. After all, just shooting the cats and leaving the carcasses where they fall only gives other cats a free meal. Just a thought. Carl Clifford
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Hello Allan, I think your point is also true enough. It is just another complication in the problem, that adds to my concerns against the suggestion that some others made. I decided not to mention that point, as I reckon Peter Shute had already made pretty much the same point as you are making. My message was already long enough and directed towards another set of reasons….. Philip —–Original Message—– Sent: Thursday, 19 February 2015 8:06 PM Cc: birding-aus-request@birding-aus.org Hi Philip, The problem with making a business venture out of any pest species, is that once up an running, the business proprietors have a vested interest in sustaining the source of their business. Goats in NSW seem to be a case in point – I think there was a hope that a value placed on their head would make farmers eradicate them, but those I’ve spoken to see them as a bank account they can draw on every year, just like any other flock. The numbers of goats we saw out west on a recent trip was a little overwhelming. Regards, Allan
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that’s a very very good point Allan, but something is better than nothing, for now… I do like the bounty idea though (not that i’m a Katter fan!!)… make it a good healthy high one, if that’s viable, but let’s not encourage the hunting fraternity to just get out there & blast everything to smithereens!!( my apologies to the responsible hunters on this list – but i’m referring to the hunters that shoot anything & everything when they get the chance, not the hunters who can pick the difference between a deer or wild pig or roo (or cat for that matter!!) from a Freckled Duck, for instance… cheers,martin cachard, cairns
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Those farmers who are good operators work hard to cull goats as best they can. Unfortunately, there are always slackers who see goats as easy money. Ask any Feral Animal Control Officer. Also, there is the ongoing problem with residual populations of goats on various Crown Lands. There is never enough money allocated in budgets for anything like effective control. Again, just ask any FECO. Carl Clifford
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Hi Phil, The problem with making a business venture out of any pest species, is that once up an running, the business proprietors have a vested interest in sustaining the source of their business. Goats in NSW seem to be a case in point – I think there was a hope that a value placed on their head would make farmers eradicate them, but those I’ve spoken to see them as a bank account they can draw on every year, just like any other flock. The numbers of goats we saw out west on a recent trip was a little overwhelming. Regards, Allan
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If I remember rightly, a little while back Greg Hunt proclaimed that feral cats would be eliminated in about 20 years. With the Federal government obviously residing in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to feral animal control, I don’t expect much from them. The Feds are too intent on saving us from the hordes of slavering, baby eating, grandmother raping jihadist that are about to descend on us at any moment by reincarnating a pythonesque Spanish Inquisition. I am not holding my breath for any useful action by Government, State or Federal. Sadly I think the Ground Parrot is on the path to joining Spix’s Macaw. At least with the Spix’s, there is a captive population. Carl Clifford
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In my view, the Government, lobbied very hard by wildlife and environmental bodies (including Birdlife Australia) should be focusing on major pest control (namely feral cats) in the crucial habitat areas of endangered fauna. Manual control through shooting and trapping needs to happen in the short term (pretty sure I saw that a per cat bounty was suggested recently – expensive way to do it perhaps but what about $50 per feral cat?). Let’s not forget the WA governments ill fated “Shark-kill” which was about $25,000 per shark. All in the name of votes and tourist dollars. Also, weapons and trapping equipment should be made freely available to key conservation personnel (e.g. John Young), if they were willing to use a firearm of course. Rangers, who spend their lives in national parks and reserves should all carry firearms. It’s fine for everyone including the government (namely Greg Hunt – copied on this email) to continue to talk about the feral cat problem. Nothing ever really gets done. There might be an eradication “trial” or two. But that’s about it. When we are down to only a few birds (like the Western Ground Parrot in Fitzgerald National Park), the government tends to “act” in some way. It’s almost too late for many mammals, reptiles and birds. Most of the “trials” or “cat trap inventions” are not paid for by the Government. Longer term a virus may be the answer but report I have read indicate this is 15 years away. I also think there should be some kind if national forum on feral cats (there probably is one, I just for know it). Also, we have government bodies for food safety, tourism, etc.. It’s time for a government body on Feral Cat management. I’ve emailed Greg Hunt to get some insight into the budget he has for Feral Cat management. I hope he proves some of my assumptions in this email are wrong. I praise the likes of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) for their measures such as building fences to keep out feral animals. In closing, just imagine what it was like walking through the Australian bush 227 years ago? Cheers, Charles Hunter
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Hunting would be only one of a number of control measure that would have to be used. A single pest control method is never completely successful. Also any feral cat control program can never completely eradicate the species in a land mass the size of Australia. Somewhere the size of Macquarie Island, yes, Australia no. I don’t think that there there will be any problem with cat levels becoming that unsustainable, what with the number of new individuals added to the breeding stock each day by the actions of misguided people. Carl Clifford
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So my dear mother told me. She said they were available in Melbourne during the War. Denise Denise Goodfellow goodfellow@bigpond.com.au On 18 Feb 2015, at 7:51 pm, Kev Lobotomi < kevlobotomi@hotmail.com> wrote:
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If that poisoning method is more selective then great. I don’t know if exporting is a good idea though. Apart from the outcry, any hunting that generates profit is likely to either fizzle out when density gets low, or encourage people to breed more of them instead of hunting. Peter Shute Sent from my iPad
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That spray bait method sounds very similar to one that is being trialled in NZ for possum control. It will be interesting to see how they perform. Carl Clifford
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And…they make such good dim sims!-Kev
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Hi Carl, True in some regards. A friend of mine from Myanmar likes to eat cat (and can’t stand eating lamb – hates the smell). Cats are very hard to catch. They are every where. I saw a very large black feral cat last August (2014) near the famed Golden-shouldered parrot site near Musgrave Roadhouse. As you know the GSP is primarily a ground feeder. I’ve seen feral cats at most of my favourite bird watching sites across Australia (from Nightcap NP to Cape York to Fitzgerald River NP). I spoke with a guy from Northern Queensland last week who said he uses them for bait in crab nets. They are excellent bait he said. This approach to cull them is the best I’ve seen for a while, see link below: http://m.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/dying-to-be-clean-the-new-technique-for-controlling-feral-cats-20141107-11iehz.html Cheers, Charles Hunter Bronte, Sydney
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