Did Australia Plan to Reduce the Feral Cat Population Using Poisoned Sausages?
No, Australia did not plan to reduce the feral cat population using poisoned sausages. In 2015, the Australian government proposed a plan to cull 2 million feral cats by 2020 to protect native species such as the bilby, quokka, and numbats. The government outlined a range of methods for reducing the population, including trapping, shooting, and poisoning. However, the use of poisoned sausages was not part of the plan.
The proposal faced considerable criticism from animal rights activists, who argued that killing cats was unnecessary and inhumane. The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) also opposed the use of baiting, shooting, or trapping to control feral cat populations.
The AVA acknowledged that feral cats posed a serious threat to native wildlife, but suggested that the risk could be managed through alternative methods such as cat sterilization and relocation. They recommended that the government focus on preventing cats from entering areas where threatened species live and on restoring habitats.
In response to these criticisms, the government revised its plan, reducing the target feral cat population to 1 million and shifting its focus toward non-lethal methods such as sterilization, relocation, and habitat restoration.
