A new guide has been developed to help environmental land managers address the growing threat to wildlife posed by feral cats.
Each day, feral cats kill on average 3.1 million mammals, 1.1 million birds and 1.8 million reptiles, and their impact on threatened native species have only increased since the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires.
Recent research from the National Environmental Science Program found that cats also transmit diseases to other animals including livestock, costing the agricultural industry up to $12 million each year.
The Glovebox Guide for the Management of Feral Cats provides information about the impacts of feral cats and lays out tools for land managers to plan their control actions in accordance with their state or territory legislation.
The free guide was developed by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions with funding provided from the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment and the South Australian Northern and Yorke Landscape Board through funding from the National Landcare Program.
It is the latest in the series of Pest Management Glovebox Guides which includes the management of species such as feral pigs, foxes, and rabbits.
The Glovebox Guide for Managing Feral Cats and other pest animal management guides are available to download and order on the pestsmart website.