Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:4:p73
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 73/80)
Character Range: 275261–278200

vectors for many pathogens that can affect other species. Cats living with or around humans impose substantial economic costs to livestock producers, and substantial health detriment and economic costs to humans (more than $6 billion annually), through their role as the definitive host for the parasites Toxoplasma gondii, some Sarcocystis spp. and Toxocara cati, and the bacterium Bartonella henselae. Pet cats that are allowed to roam freely experience higher rates of injury (e.g. from vehicle strike, cat-on-cat fights, dog attacks), social stress, and illness. They have much shorter lifespans than cats kept indoors or confined to their owner's property. Feral cats living near people are also exposed to high rates of injury, and diseases exacerbated by living at high density and supplementing their diets with extremely poor-quality food scavenged from refuse. For further information and referenced sources, refer to section 6.9 of the background document.

Reducing the number of roaming pet cats by keeping cats contained will reduce impacts to wildlife, reduce the potential for pet cats to be a source for the feral population, reduce pathogen transmission rates, and improve welfare outcomes for cats. Reducing the numbers of feral cats living near human habitation and infrastructure will similarly reduce wildlife impacts and pathogen transmission rates, and improve welfare for those feral cats. Reducing the densities of cats that roam freely around human habited areas could therefore have One Health benefits to people, cats, livestock, and wildlife.

Reducing the impacts of cats living with and around humans requires a different suite of preventative and control actions, compared with managing feral cats in natural environments. The physical environments differ and some control options are generally out of scope (e.g. toxic baits, shooting); the impacts of free-roaming pet and feral cats on humans can be more direct and thus a source of community concern; the cat population is a mixture of pet and feral yet management actions for these 2 groups of cats differ; and, the legislation framing cat management in these environments is a complex interplay between up to 3 levels of government.

Most importantly, options for managing cats living with or around people are strongly influenced by human attitudes and behaviours, which may vary from place to place. Meeting the objective therefore requires that actions are informed by social science research to understand how the public (which contains diverse interest groups) responds to, and is involved in, the issues of cat impacts and management in and around human habitation and infrastructure. The perspectives and particular practical issues associated with cat management in First Nations communities are very important. A broad and ongoing engagement program should accompany cat management.

The ideal goal for pet cat management is that all cats are