Cats have long held a special place in the life of ex-breeder and conservationist, Julie Boyd, providing colour and companionship, as well as being keen rodent hunters. On her sprawling rural New Zealand property in the upper North Island town of Kaipara Flats, the cats roam free. “I have an elderly cat- Padme – who […]
Tag: feral cats
‘Dingoes were here first’: the landowners who say letting ‘wild dogs’ live pays dividends
By their own admission, John Knight and Caroline Thomas are blow-ins to the cattle country in South Australia’s far north. An Adelaide cardiac surgeon and a clinical researcher respectively, they bought Evelyn Downs, a cattle station near the Painted Desert about 150km north of Coober Pedy, in 2006 and moved north a decade later. From […]
Australia confirms extinction of 13 more species, including first reptile since colonisation
The Australian government has officially acknowledged the extinction of 13 endemic species, including 12 mammals and the first reptile known to have been lost since European colonisation. The addition of the dozen mammal species confirms Australia’s unenviable position as the world’s capital for mammal extinction, lifting the total number of mammals known to have died […]
‘Glum future for the platypus’: why the elusive mammal is disappearing under our noses
It is dusk beside a creek and we are instructed to look for a trail of bubbles, under which could be one of the world’s weirdest mammals. When you’re desperate to see a platypus in the fading light, everything looks like one. Floating logs from bank-side paperbark trees, gyrating leaves caught in a dance with the […]
Australian wildlife 20 times more likely to encounter deadly feral cats than native predators
Australia’s wildlife are at least 20 times more likely to come across a deadly feral cat than one of the country’s native predators, according to a new study. Invasive cats, which kill billions of native animals each year, form a triple threat, the study finds, by hunting with greater intensity, in broader environments and in […]
POLL: Should the massive culling of feral cats be allowed (with long read)?
In the deep winter weeks of last July, Shane Morse and Kevin Figliomeni nearly always got up before the sun rose. They awoke next to the remains of a campfire or, occasionally, in a roadside motel, and in the darkness before dawn they began unloading poisoned sausage from their refrigerated truck. The sausage was for […]
POLL: Should Hawaii’s feral cats be killed to protect indigenous species?
It is estimated that there are several HUNDRED THOUSAND cats on the island of Oahu alone. FERAL discusses the overpopulation of feral cats in Hawaii. The film highlights: 1) The various reasons as to why this is a MAJOR problem: the health and well being of the cats predation on critically endangered species a strange […]
Poll: Should Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs be used to handle feral cats?
Feral cats are cats who have had little or no significant contact with humans. These cats are used to fending for themselves and don’t do well as an indoor pet cat. Many cat lovers have turned to Trap-Neuter-Return programs (also known as TNR) to handle the feral cats in their communities. There may already be […]