Research scientists with the Department of Environment and Conservation look to be winning the war against feral cats.
Minister for Environment, Donna Faragher said a new bait, Eradicat, was being used at a number of sites in arid and semi-arid regions of Western Australia.
Ms Faragher said numerous trials have been undertaken over a number of years to determine the bait’s effectiveness.
“Feral cats are recognised as significant threats to fauna conservation in Australia,” she said.
DEC scientists solve age-old problem
“Not only do they prey on native fauna and have the potential to spread diseases, they are also a major obstacle to fauna reintroduction programs.”
Ms Faragher said the development of Eradicat was an exciting breakthrough as it could effectively control feral cat populations across big areas.
She said it would open the door to a number of fauna reintroductions and help build resilience in the populations of many native species.
The Minister said the baits had reduced feral cat densities by up to 85 per cent and could also prove to be effective in controlling other introduced predators such as foxes and wild dogs.
Senior Research Scientist at the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Dr Dave Algar said the bait had already been used to eradicate feral cats from several islands including Hermite Island in the Montebellos and Faure Island in Shark Bay.
“Cat-control programs using ground-based baiting have also been established on the Cocos and Christmas Islands and a feral cat eradication campaign is being planned for Dirk Hartog Island,” Dr Algar said.
He said the bait, which is injected with a toxin, resembles a small sausage and contains kangaroo meat mince, chicken fat and flavour enhancers to attract feral cats.
It was developed as part of a collaborative project between DEC, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).
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