Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:9:p3
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 9 (pt 3/20)
Character Range: 310890–313836

Appendix 1 lists nationally threatened and migratory species that are known to be preyed upon by cats or for which predation by cats is considered a potential or recognised threat.

Appendix 2 attributes levels of cat-susceptibility to native species, including nationally threatened and migratory species. The threatened species included are those listed under the EPBC Act as at June 2023. Information for species listed under the EPBC Act is available from the Species Profile and Threats Database.

These lists should not be considered definitive; as more information accumulates, additional species may be found to be cat-susceptible.

Ecological communities

Cat impacts in some threatened ecological communities may be acute, for example, ecological communities that are in arid and semi-arid areas or on islands; that contain keystone animal species that are ground-dwelling and within the prey size range for cats (i.e. less than 4 kg); where fire heavily changes vegetation structure (like heath); and that are heavily affected by fragmentation.

Critical habitats and World Heritage Areas

Of registered areas of critical habitat, feral cats were a major predator of nesting seabirds on Macquarie Island. Cats were eradicated from there in 2000, resulting in substantial recovery of several seabird species. Feral cats do not threaten other areas of critical habitat (see section 4.6).

Cat predation affects the natural values of 9 World Heritage Areas (see section 4.6).

Critically, susceptibility to cats varies depending on context, including the presence of other threats that can amplify cat impacts (see background document).

Examples of actions that may increase the threat of predation by cats include:

    * Increasing the density of roads, tracks, and other linear infrastructure such as pipelines and drill lines through natural environments, as these are known to focus and increase cat activity.

    * Fragmenting native vegetation, as cats are known to use habitat edges to travel along, and hunt from.

    * Expanding suburban and other built-up areas, as these areas harbour very high densities of feral cats, and pet cats, and could heighten the level of cat / wildlife interactions.

    * Creating new infrastructure (including culverts, buildings) in otherwise natural environments (e.g. a mine site), as cats may use such infrastructure for shelter and denning.

    * Creating sources of abundant food for cats that will support high cat densities in a local area, such as rubbish skips or tips, or intensive farm sites, that are accessible to cats or introduced rodents.

    * Reducing the complexity of the ground layer (e.g. by clearing, mowing, frequent fire, heavy grazing), as this is known to increase the impacts from cats by attracting higher cat activity, and by increasing hunting efficiency.

Any such impacts may be especially pronounced at places where a proposed development overlaps with or