In 2015, the Australian government announced a plan to kill two million feral cats by 2020, according to a recent report from The New York Times. Feral cats have invaded virtually the whole continent and have been seriously damaging to native species.( AP Photo/ Department of the Environment, C. Potter) Almost half a million sausages are airdropped in a month and about 50 sausages are dropped every square kilometer, according to The Times.
The cats — which are not native to Australia and were first brought to the continent in the 1700 s when European settlers first arrived — have invaded virtually the whole continent and have been severely damaging to native species.
The Time reported that cats are believed to have been one of the main threats to 22 of the 34 species in Australia that have gone extinct since the 1700 s — species that existed nowhere else in the world.
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A 2017 study published in the publication Biological Conservation found that cats in Australia are estimated to kill 377 million birds and 649 reptiles every year, the Independent reported.
Despite pushback after the initial proclamation to kill the two million cats — which included more than 160,000 signatures on several online petitions asking for the cats to be saved, according to The Times — the Australian government declared feral cats to be pests in July 2015.
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“Feral cats are a nationally significant pest that threatens our unique native fauna. While recognizing the important role of domestic cats as companion animals, domestic and stray cats may also threaten native fauna, ” the Australian National Declaration said, in part.
‘Ministers also agreed that the management of feral cats will be considered a priority in threatened species recovery programs, ” the declaration added.
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