Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:4:p53
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 53/80)
Character Range: 186636–189571

is often not intensive nor sustained, and because there is rarely any monitoring of outcomes attached to the activity. There are therefore opportunities to better harness the interest and skills of recreational shooters and landholders to control feral cats effectively, and the focus of the related action in this plan is on trialling the value of sustained shooting programs with improved program design and outcome monitoring, and developing guidelines for programs to reduce feral cat impacts on native species.

In parts of the Tanami, Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts, First Nations people hunt feral cats by following cat tracks by car and on foot to where the feral cats are hiding under vegetation or in burrows. The feral cats are hunted for bush tucker and medicine, as cat meat is considered to give strength and health. Hunting of feral cats has been encouraged in areas supporting cat-susceptible threatened species (Ninu (bilby), Tjalapa (great desert skink), by formalising the action in Indigenous Protection Area management plans, and by offering payments to encourage hunting to control feral cats near threatened species, with those payments structured so hunting is encouraged even as feral cat density diminishes. The approach works best in areas with good substrate for tracking (e.g. sandy deserts), and when there are multiple motivations for continuing to hunt (e.g. conservation, food, medicine, payment). The hunting is inspiring for other First Nations ranger groups with aspirations to manage feral cats on their own Country, even if other techniques are more suitable for their area.

Refer to section 6.4 of the background document for further information and referenced sources.

Guardian dogs

Guardian dogs were bred originally in Europe and Asia to protect livestock from large predators. They have more recently been used in conservation in both Europe and north America. In Australia, they have been/are being used successfully to protect some native species living in small areas (e.g. little penguins, gannets, eastern barred bandicoots) from foxes. It is unclear whether guardian dogs can also successfully repel feral cats, and if so at what scale and under which circumstances they are effective. In addition, introducing large canids into ecosystems could have its own adverse impacts, for example if the dogs actively or passively repel some native species.

Refer to section 6.7.3 of the background document for further information and referenced sources.

Novel control options

Novel options for feral cat control aim to increase target specificity and efficacy, improve humaneness, or offer longer-term solutions, when compared to existing feral cat control options. The options include using immunocontraception and gene drives to reduce feral cat populations. None are likely to be operative within the lifetime of this plan, but progress towards their development and evaluation should