Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017C00220:reg:1:p5
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017C00220
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 5/9)
Character Range: 15978–18874

confinement of domestic cats becomes more common, the category of a domestic cat may need to be divided to confined and unconfined cats because the potential for these two groups to impact on native fauna is different.
These categories of cats are artificial and reflect a continuum, and individuals may move from one category to another (Moodie 1995; Newsome 1991). In any given situation, the category causing the most damage to wildlife needs to be identified because management actions will depend on the type of cat causing the damage. Where domestic cats are the primary cause, management is likely to concentrate on owners and consist of promoting responsible ownership through education and local or state/territory legislation. For feral cats, the focus is on reducing numbers or inhibiting predation through the use of mechanical, chemical or biological methods. Management of stray cats often requires a combination of technical and social approaches. It is noted that in some remote Indigenous communities that the complex relationships between people, families, groups and their companion animals may require a different approach to addressing the problem of predation by feral cats.  The approach taken will need to be developed in consultation with the communities.
This plan focuses primarily on managing the negative impact of feral cats. Broadly, native species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act that are susceptible to cat predation affecting populations are located in areas where domestic and stray cats are absent or in much lower numbers. It is generally accepted that improvements in the management of domestic and stray cats are necessary near human habitation and these improvements may reduce recruitment to the feral cat population. For eradication and control efforts to be sustained, the transition of cats from domestic or stray to feral must be prevented so that feral cat populations are not enhanced or new populations established.
Feral cats occur on Commonwealth land, such as Department of Defence properties and Commonwealth-managed national parks. On a national scale, however, management of feral cats on Commonwealth land is only a small part of the larger picture of conserving threatened species affected by cat predation. Many state and territory wildlife agencies have a history of research into and practical on-ground management of feral cats. In addition, private sector and community initiatives also contribute to feral cat management activities.

1.2.2  The impacts
Feral cats are recognised as a potential threat to 74 mammal species and sub-species (Woinarski et al. 2014), 40 birds, 21 reptiles and four amphibians.  The mammal species and subspecies are identified in the 2014 Mammal Action Plan (Woinarski et al. 2014). The birds, reptiles and amphibians are all listed as threatened under the EPBC Act, and there are 19 bird species