The Australian Veterinary Association published in their journal, "Feral cats: The greatest threat to Australia’s native animals."
“On average, each cat hunted 20 times a day with a 30% success rate. So on average, each cat killed seven animals a day, but ate only two-thirds of the animals they killed. This means that analyses of cat stomach contents will underestimate their impact. Data suggests that feral cats are probably killing around three million native animals a year in the Mornington-Marion Downs (Kimberley) area alone,” he said.
If feral cats are so bad, what would you say if someone were to unleash into the wild, FIV, calicivirus or feline panleukopaenia as a biocontrol measure? This could kill your pet cats.
This is no different to the release of KHV to control feral carp, which would also kill people’s pet koi.
We’ve had this discussion on a veterinarians forum. The consensus between my veterinary peers is that reliable vaccines need to be made available to pet owners before even considering release of a biocontrol agent. Moreover, we have to be certain that the disease will not affect native species, or other unintended species.
Read more of article on feral cats at this link –
http://www.ava.com.au/13586
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
Aquatic Veterinarian & Veterinary Pathologist.
PERTH | MELBOURNE | TOWNSVILLE
THE FISH VET – AUSTRALIA.
Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
