Wildlife authorities around the country are reminding the public about the importance of responsible cat ownership, after an Australian woman shared her total “devastation” at finding out two recently-rescued native fledglings had been snatched from outside her property.
Taking to social media this week, the West Aussie wrote that she saw two Willie wagtail parents “hanging around all afternoon” very distressed while “searching for their missing babies”.
“Unfortunately it looks like both babies are now missing, I’m beyond devastated. I’ve just gone out our front door and found a bundle of Willie wagtail feathers on the doormat,” she said alongside a photo of the sad scene.
“I don’t know if it was one of our newly fledged babies, one of their parents or one of the other many Willies that visit our garden.”
The woman said she “knows it’s nature’s way” but that didn’t make her “feel any better”. “Especially after having such a close bond with our resident Willies and rescuing one of the babies just yesterday evening,” she said.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia after viewing the photo Dr Suzie Fowler, Chief Science Officer at RSPCA Australia, said cats eating native Australian wildlife is not nature’s way — quite the opposite.
In Australia, feral cats kill an estimated two billion animals annually, including around 1.4 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles, and frogs. Source: Getty
What’s the best way to keep a cat ‘contained’ in a property?
She said the best way for cat owners to protect wildlife is to keep cats safe and happy at home — securely contained in their property and now allow them to freely roam suburbs.
“Keeping owned cats contained at home not only protects wildlife like native birds, it also reduces the risk of the cat themselves becoming sick or injured (e.g. getting in a car accident or a fight with another cat),” she told Yahoo News Australia.
“Contained means completely preventing cats from roaming from their home property at any time and can be achieved by using an escape-proof contained outdoor area on the caregiver’s property — via cat proof fencing or using netting or rigid wire to form a fully enclosed area — or by keeping the cat contained indoors.”
Fowler said cat containment “must be implemented in a way that safeguards the cat’s welfare”.
“Contained cats are required to be provided with “an environment that is optimised to meet the cat’s physical and mental needs, it allows and encourages the expression of normal feline behaviours, minimises stress, and promotes good health and welfare,” she said.
Australia’s devastating problem with feral and domestic cats
In Australia, feral cats kill an estimated two billion animals annually, including around 1.4 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles, and frogs. Each feral cat kills an average of 740 animals per year .
Domestic cats also contribute significantly, killing around 390 million animals annually. The environmental and agricultural costs of feral cats in Australia exceed $6 billion annually, including biodiversity loss and disease management.
A spokesperson for RSCPA Queensland said it’s not only WA residents facing this issue. They said the organisation is all too familiar with the scenes that played out at the woman’s home.
“When cats roam they can also injure or kill our wildlife like birds and reptiles, which we sometimes encounter with patients,” the spokesperson told Yahoo.
“We love cats, but we also know that for their safety and for the safety of other animals, they should be kept secure on your property. “
They said when cats roam they have a higher risk of being hit by cars, encountering other domestic pets, fighting and picking up paralysis ticks — especially this time of year.
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