Kangaroo Island Cat Control Committee

Impact of sarcosporidiosis on South Australian sheep farmers:

This graphic clearly demonstrates the seriousness of the sarco problem on Kangaroo Island. Sarcosporidiosis is a parasite that infects sheep and is co-hosted in cats. It can be eliminated by removing cats.

Losses to farmers result from:

• higher abattoir costs - separate processing needed
• reduced carcasse weight due to trimming
• cost burden of cat control

News:

2/9/2010   Feral cats wiping out endangered bush species
ABC News report on problems facing native animals in Northern Australia, suggests cats are causing more damage than cane toads and fire.

Feral cats wiping out endangered bush species

26/8/2010   Genetic Structure of Feral Cat Populations on Kangaroo Island
The Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board has been working with the Kangaroo Island Cat Control Committee (KICCC) since 2007 to collect genetic samples from feral cats on Dudley Peninsula.

The Dudley Peninsula is connected to the main body of Kangaroo Island by a narrow isthmus, about 1 km wide at its narrowest point, which might act as a barrier to restrict migration. If the potential for migration of feral cats across the isthmus is relatively low, the Dudley Peninsula could be a useful management unit for extensive feral cat control because the rate at which cats are replaced by immigration would be low.

Read more about the Dudley Peninsula genetic survey of cats here...

15/7/10   New Educational Signs produced
The Kangaroo Island Cat Control Committee are pleased to have co-produced three educational signs, which can be viewed here:
Cat Sign 1 (400kb PDF)
Cat Sign 2 (410kb PDF)
Cat Sign 3 (630kb PDF)

22/4/10   PestMaps from the Invasive Animals CRC showing relative abundance of feral cats across Australia
Feral Cats may be found across Australia, but look at the abundance on Kangaroo Island. Scroll down the page on the above link to see a red painted island.

15/3/09   Recently published paper compares cat control methods.
CSIRO recently published a paper in "Wildlife Research" on various feral cat control methods researched in the US:
Evaluation of euthanasia and trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs in managing free-roaming cat populations

Some quotes:
"Population decreases were comparable among euthanasia, TNR and a 50 : 50 combination for all treatment rates when the immigration rate was 0%; however, they were higher for euthanasia at 25% and 50% maximum immigration rates."
"We stress that TNR campaigns may not be appropriate in ecologically sensitive areas or in communities with high rates of nuisance complaints for free-roaming cats."
"...there is evidence that sterilisation may increase survival rates for coyotes and freeroaming cats."