Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747:reg:4:p67
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L01747
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 67/80)
Character Range: 249508–252821

(linked to Action 2.13).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Very High  Very High ($5 million, recognising some monitoring is already in place)  Researchers; land managers; government agencies; First Nations groups; NGOs  Starting immediately

     8.8 Objective 8. Reduce the burden of cat predation across all native species using integrated management of habitat and species interactions over large areas

     Rationale

Many native species can persist if cat predation is partially reduced, or if susceptibility is moderated by contextual factors such as topographic complexity, vegetation structure, and whether other introduced species are present; these are the subject of Objective 8. Many dozens of species and ecological communities could benefit from actions undertaken as part of this objective (Table 1 in section 4.1.1 and section 8 of the background document). This objective mostly focuses on reducing the impacts of feral cats, but could also reduce impacts from pet cats that roam into neighbouring bushland.

Cats consume millions of native animals daily from across Australia. Such predation will directly reduce the viability, and add to the threat burden, of many species. Rather than aiming to reduce cat numbers directly, this objective seeks to reduce cat impacts by manipulating the ecological interactions that cats are part of, potentially over very large scales. Although cat impacts may not be sufficiently reduced to retain species in the landscape that are extremely cat-susceptible, this holistic management approach should provide benefit to a range of species with low, moderate, and even highly cat-susceptible species (e.g. bilbies, dusky hoping mouse) in some circumstances. This approach will also improve ecological function, or the health of Country, by managing threats that cause detriment to ecosystems in their own right, as well as through their interactions with cats. The holistic intent of this objective is aligned with how First Nations people approach managing Country.

Reduce rabbit and introduced rodent populations

Rabbits can be significant prey items for cats; their presence elevates cat density, which can cause hyper-predation of native species. Reducing rabbit densities is an effective and efficient way to reduce cat densities, enough to benefit many cat-susceptible species, although not those that are extremely cat-susceptible. Rabbits also contribute to reduced habitat complexity which can worsen cat impacts. Introduced rodent populations on some islands support high cat densities. In the arid zone, high rainfall can drive rabbit and introduced rodent irruptions, as well as native rodent irruptions, that in turn support high feral cat densities. Reducing rabbit and introduced rodent populations must be planned carefully to avoid adverse effects of prey-switching to native species by cats, because the sudden increase in predation can cause rapid population declines in those native species, until the cat population re-stabilises at a lower level. For example, short-term feral cat control could be undertaken