Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:4:p72
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 72/80)
Character Range: 271678–275527

resilience, and, where relevant, develop costed options for landholders at regional scale.                                                      Very High  Very High                                                               Researchers; state and territory governments; applicable rural research and development corporations (e.g. Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA)); state and national farm organisations; pastoralists, NGOs; Traditional Owners                            Starting in the period 2024-2029
                                                                                                                                                                * Will require a robust experimental framework, collaboration with engaged pastoralists, comparison of contrasting management regimes in trial areas, and consideration of impacts on: mesopredators (cats, foxes), native species, First Nations cultural values, ecosystem responses more broadly, and productivity (e.g. cattle loss, population size of macropods and predation behaviour of dingoes).
8.6                                                                                                                                                        Further refine understanding of apex predator management - Tasmanian devils: Carry out research to evaluate if / how devil management affects cat impacts and any potential benefits for threatened species and ecosystem resilience, along with potential costs and risks of devil management options, where relevant.                                                                                          High       High                                                                    Researchers; state and territory governments; applicable rural research and development corporations (e.g. MLA); pastoralists; NGOs                                                                                                                      Starting in the period 2024-2029

     8.9 Objective 9. Reduce density of free-roaming cats around areas of human habitation and infrastructure

     Rationale

This objective focuses on controlling the impacts of cats living near people, to achieve conservation benefits. The impacts of pet cats, and their management, are most relevant here. This objective relates closely with, and is underpinned by, Objective 1 (Enhanced regulatory framework) and Objective 2 (Plan and implement effective cat management with public support).

Pet and feral cats can reach very high densities around human habitation and infrastructure in cities, towns, farms, remote communities and outstations. Although pet cats are fed by their owners, most still hunt. The diet of both pets and human-associated feral cats includes refuse and a larger proportion of introduced species compared to feral cats in natural environments, but their densities are so high that the predation toll on native species per unit area still exceeds that of feral cats in natural environments. There is consequently a cat 'predation halo' (of unknown width) around most areas of human habitation. As the human population in Australia grows, so do the populations of pet cats and human-associated feral cats. There is also some evidence that the number of remote First Nations communities with very high densities of resident cats is growing, increasing the frequency of nuclei of high-density cats in natural environments that prey on native species directly, and provide an ongoing source of dispersers into the feral population.

Cats (both pet and feral cats) are 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