Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:4:p59
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 59/80)
Character Range: 215950–221049

of high biodiversity value.                                                                                                                                                                                               High       Medium          Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments; Traditional Owners                        Starting in the period 2024-2029
                                                                                                  *    Where islands are the responsibility of First Nations groups, these groups should be supported to respond.
5.3                                                                                           Prevent accidental cat introductions to islands from boats.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Very High  Medium          Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments; boating associations; Traditional Owners  Starting immediately
                                                                                                  * Disseminate information through yachting and boating associations, barge companies, fishing charters and other tourism enterprises, to highlight the importance of preventing cat incursions to islands.
                                                                                                  * Install signs at boat landing spots to the same effect.
                                                                                                  * Support Traditional Owner groups to establish formal access arrangements for visitors to their islands.
Enhance knowledge
5.4                                                                                           Collate information from island surveillance programs into national databases. (Objective 2)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    High       Low             Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments; Traditional Owners                        Starting in the period 2024-2029
Maintain public support
5.5                                                                                           Engage with island residents to promote support for maintaining cat-free island status.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         High       Medium          Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory governments; Traditional Owners                        Starting immediately
                                                                                                  * Where cat-free islands have, or could have, temporary or permanent residents, engage with that community to understand values, attitudes, behaviours; then develop approaches to discourage the transport of pet cats to that island.
                                                                                                  * For islands under Indigenous tenure, work with the community to understand values, attitudes, behaviours; then develop approaches to discourage the introduction of cats to cat-free islands.

     8.6 Objective 6. Protect the most cat-susceptible species: Remove and exclude cats from an expanded network of cat-free islands and fenced havens, and manage those havens to maintain or enhance their conservation values

     Rationale

Some native species are highly unlikely to persist in the presence of even very low densities of cats; these highly to extremely cat-susceptible species are the subject of Objective 6. The set of species includes 47 mammal species, 6 bird species, and 4 reptile species (Table 1 in section 4.1.1 and section 8 of the background document). Fifteen of these taxa are also priority species in the Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 (see section 4.1).

Maintaining and increasing the numbers of areas that are cat-free – both islands and fenced areas on the mainland – is an essential component of preventing the extinction of native species that are most susceptible to cat predation, whilst other options for reducing cat impacts are improved or developed (Objective 4). Cat-free havens have been critical for protecting cat-susceptible species that have declined or been extirpated from the mainland (details in background document). Cat-free islands also offer safe breeding sites for seabirds and hold cultural significance for many First Nations groups.

To date, the conservation benefits of creating cat-free havens have focused on cat-susceptible mammals. This threat abatement plan presents a