Feral cat management tool strengthens Australia’s control options


Wider availability of the proven control tool – Eradicat® – is welcome news for Australia’s land managers and conservationists managing the deadly threat feral cats pose to our unique native species.

The Centre for Invasive Species Solutions (CISS) is pleased that, in addition to Western Australia, Eradicat® is now registered for use in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. It marks the final milestone of the Eradicat® national registration project, in partnership with the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), and the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW).

The National Feral Cat and Fox Management Coordinator, Yasmin Aly, based with CISS, says, “Australia is home to incredible wildlife species found nowhere else in the world, but feral cats have already contributed to the extinction of 32 native animal species and continue to threaten more than 200 others.”

“Rarely seen and highly effective hunters, feral cats prey on native animals across the landscape, playing a major role in Australia’s biodiversity crisis. This development provides a new opportunity to manage feral cats at a landscape scale, strengthening efforts to protect vulnerable native species and prevent further extinctions,” Ms Aly says.

“Eradicat® is a small, sausage-style bait containing 1080, a toxin that occurs naturally in some Australian plants, like the Heart Leaf Poison Bush. Because many native Australian species have evolved alongside these plants over millions of years, they have developed a level of tolerance to the toxin that introduced predators such as feral cats haven’t,” Ms Aly explains.

Heart Leaf Poison Bush
The Heart Leaf Poison Bush is a native Australian plant containing a compound vital in the management of introduced animal species.

 

“Eradicat® can be used for both aerial and ground-based control programs and is particularly valuable for remote and difficult-to-access areas beyond the range of domestic pets, as well as large conservation areas, islands and landscapes. Baiting is timed to coincide with periods when feral cats are more likely to take the bait, helping to maximise effectiveness while minimising impacts on other wildlife.”

The successful registration project generated the scientific data required to support a national application to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), making Eradicat® available for use beyond Western Australia following rigorous technical assessments and registration process.

Eradicat® was developed, and is owned by, the WA DBCA. It has been successfully used for many years in Western Australia as part of integrated feral cat management programs protecting threatened native fauna from predation and livestock from the diseases spread by feral cats.

Land managers in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory can now access the product via their local land management agencies.