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Nine Lives Reduced For Feral Cats

Some of the nine lives that the feline species are renowned for are likely to be curtailed, at least for the feral cat variety, with the procurement of a new set of traps for Latrobe’s Local Law’s latest mission.

By news@gippsland - 25th May 2004 - Back to News

The new traps are designed specifically for capturing feral animals in a humane and effective way, in areas where normal entrapment methods won’t work.

Local Laws Manager, Peter Fraser, said the new traps could be used in a number of Latrobe City bushland reserves where feral cats are a big problem.

"Feral cats are the 'wild' offspring of domestic cats and are usually the result of pet owners' abandoning or failing to desex their animals, allowing them to breed uncontrolled," Mr Fraser explained.

"In Latrobe City, feral cats can be found behind shopping areas or businesses, in parks, abandoned buildings, and in rural areas. They are elusive and tend not to trust humans, which makes them hard to catch.

"Feral cats that seek their prey in bushland reserves are extremely wily and elusive creatures. They avoid any contact with humans whatsoever, so their toll on bushland wildlife continuously goes unchecked.

"It’s these highly destructive creatures we are targeting with the new traps, in order to help reserve committees of management carry out their work more effectively," Mr Fraser said.

Crinigan Road Bushland Reserve secretary, Peter Ryan, welcomed the announcement, explaining that cats were naturally carnivorous creatures and were very well adapted to hunting small mammals and birds.

 "They can decimate the native populations of small wildlife in bushland reserves such as Crinigan Road. They have excellent eyesight, hearing and sense of smell and can detect the smallest movement of potential prey. They are also very able climbers.

"All of these features together with four sets of retractable claws, and teeth adapted for gripping, tearing and shearing, make the feral cat a formidable hunter," Mr Ryan said.

"Feral cats have been an ongoing problem inhibiting the re-establishment of native wildlife in the reserve, so we welcome this initiative of Council, and the support of former Mayor Graeme Middlemiss, who helped get this initiative off the ground," Mr Ryan said. 

Mr Fraser said the new traps could be camouflaged and set in bushland reserves where there were notable populations of feral cats. "The traps are usually baited with sardines, which most feral cats find delectable," Mr Fraser said.

"While the traps do not pose a danger to humans, traps will only be set at night-time, with Local Laws officers and management committee members following up at crack-of-dawn the next day to remove or release any entrapped animals," he stressed.   

"The traps are spring loaded and effectively catch the feral cat in a net, without harming it. That’s especially important, as it’s quite possible for native wildlife such as possums to entrap themselves, and these can then be released back into the wild without any ill effects other than a dint to their pride," he added.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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