Of course, the government will have to ensure that all domestic cats are inoculated (immunised) against the disease that they’re going to spread amongst feral cats.
I have no idea how they’re going to target just feral cats with an artificially created germ while avoiding all the other native wildlife species about which they are so desperately concerned and which they say is being wiped out by the dreaded feral cat.
If the plan is put into action it is liable to backfire extremely badly. They realise they have to do a lot of work on this in order to make it work but just thinking about it to me indicates a desperation and a hatred for the feral cat, which they put there in the first place.
Mr Hunt, the environment minister, has called for a survey to study how to use a virus to eradicate feral cats. Professor Woinarski, the co-author of a study into the impact of the feral cat on native species says that a virus was “probably the long-term solution that we’re looking for.”
He also states that: “it may take 10 or 20 years to develop such a system. In the meantime species will disappear, mammal species will disappear.”
He admits however that people aren’t aware of the magnitude of the problem and that he thinks that the Australian native mammals simply can’t cope. Note that he thinks this might be the case. It does not know.
As I understand it, the study estimates there are 15,000,000 feral cats in Australia with each killing an average 5 animals a night. Once again I stress that these are estimates. Based on these estimates the Australian government appear to be giving the go-ahead to slaughter the entire population of feral cats in Australia with a virus while ensuring that all other species of animal including the domestic cats are safe.
It smacks of madness to me. What do you think?
Every now and then, periodically and routinely the Australian authorities wheel out the usual diatribes and rants about the feral cat and how savage and effective they are at killing native species. They flounder in trying to find a solution.
What about a mass, well coordinated and well funded trap-neuter-release programme across the entire country? That would at least be humane and I suggest it would also be more effective. The timetable would certainly be within the 20 years mentioned to carry out mass extermination through what I seems like germ warfare.
What happened to the beautiful, exemplary protocols set by so many countries and states, of tending, caring for the colonies?
http://messybeast.com/ukferal.htm
“In Britain, deliberate poisoning of feral cats is not normally allowed as it puts wildlife and other domestic animals at risk. There have been cases of deliberate poisoning with rodenticide, but the use of poison is strictly controlled. There is the risk of scavengers ingesting the poison when eating carcasses. Harmless insectivores such as hedgehogs are particularly at risk from cat food laced with poison. Deliberate infection with cat flu or enteritis is also unacceptable. Contraception has sometimes been used as a short term measure prior to trap-neuter-release (TNR) schemes.
Because they are classed as vermin, feral cats (“nuisance cats”) may legally be controlled by shooting by the landowner or his agents. They many also be live-trapped (using human box traps) and euthanized. More rarely, a feral cat is shot by a trained pest control operative because it is untrappable and there is no safe alternative.”
Please read the rest of the article, those of you who haven’t already, for it provides some good information, especially the Trap-Neuter-Release schemes.
“Public opinion is generally against the wholesale destruction of ferals. For a start, vacated areas simply attract new cats. Also, there is a risk that indoor-outdoor pets may be caught up in the destruction.”
And again, you’ve got to be kidding me, Michael. Australia wants to release a virus to “sweetly, simply” eradicate ferals. What a bunch of hooey. Perhaps this virus could be modified to do you know what to you know who…
Maybe the virus will go wrong and make every human in Australia ill 😉 particularly those people running the country.
If you live where its not legal to use firearms (areas zoned as “residential”) then check into 700-1200fps air-rifles and pointed vermin-pellets. Many of the new ones come with their own sound-suppressor designs built-in, specifically designed for shooting vermin cats in urban areas, the demand is that great. Just remember, shoot-to-kill is a perfectly legal way to rid your homes and lands of these vermin cats. Shoot-to-maim is animal cruelty, and rightly so, all hunters know this. Don’t let them parade another illegal shoot-to-maim case in the media to exploit yet another suffering cat for donations for themselves. They torture enough cats to death with their TNR programs for that and make $millions by doing so. (Check out Better Business Bureau’s findings of “Alley Cat Allies” (All Lies) for one example of how to become a millionaire by torturing stray cats to death.) Then there’s always the “SSS and TDSS Cat Management Programs” that are exploding in popularity worldwide. Shoot, Shovel, & Shut-Up; or Trap, Drown, Shovel, & Shut-Up. Both methods are legal on every square foot of this earth. No local ordinances were violated if it never happened.
Where cats have already learned to evade all trapping methods, then inexpensive generic acetaminophen (overseas paracetamol) pain-relievers are a more species-specific vermin poison — a method condoned by even Audubon, Smithsonian, and National Geographic today. Stray cats have been listed as “vermin” in the USA since the early 1900’s. (I learned this from a cat-licker, thanks cat-lickers!) This is why it is even legal to use any and all vermin poisons on them. For an even more species-specific vermin poison check into the toxicity of “Lilium” species of flowers too. Be certain the plant contains the word “Lilium” in the scientific-name (other plants with the word “Lily” in the common-name may be toxic to other species besides cats). Common N. American “Day Lilies” also work, they are the one exception to the rule that the name “Lilium” needs to be in the scientific name. Lilium species of flowers are 100% fatal to cats ONLY, even a bit of pollen on their fur that they lick-off will do. If they even drink a bit of water in which a bunch of Lilium flowers have been kept — that too is fatal, but totally harmless to all other species of animals (including dogs). Much safer for the environment and all other animals than the rat-poisons and antifreeze that cat-lickers have forced everyone into using on their cats. These plants when harvested and dried for year-round cat-eradication use is even better, as the unknown toxin is concentrated during the drying process (the blossoms and pollen being most toxic), and the dried plants are even more palatable to cats. An excellent mulch for anyone’s garden or a ground-up additive for any tins of food left lying around.
However, you really need to dispose of that cat safely and hygienically so that wildlife won’t die from the deadly diseases cats spread even after their death. Leaving ANY cat out in nature, alive OR dead, is no better than intentionally poisoning your native wildlife to death. I know this. I fed a shot-dead cat to some wildlife under my care, those animals and their offspring that they had while under my care then died from some disease in that cat-meat. Cats truly are complete and total wastes-of-flesh. They can’t even be used to feed wildlife safely.
I don’t see anyone dumping cats where I live anymore. They don’t even adopt more than can be kept under lock & key 24/7/52. When driving through the area I don’t see even one cat on anyone’s doorsteps anymore. I always keep an eye out to see if there are more free-roaming cats that will have to be shot. And if I’ll have to leave fish-oil trails on all the roadsides again, leading right to my IR surveillance system and laser-sighted rifle. (You can read some of the most effective methods I invented to rid my lands of hundreds of these vermin in only two seasons, posted here: americanhunter D0T org SLASH blogs/arkansas-will-trap-feral-cats The eradication of these disease-infested invasive species vermin was so complete and effective that cats are non-existent from my area for over 4 years now. Not seen nor heard a single one.)
Leaving ANY of their invasive species cats outside in my area means certain death for their cat, their cat’s further existence can be counted in hours. You’d think everyone else could learn from this simple lesson. The quickest way to solve an unwanted animal and irresponsible pet-owner problem is to let everyone know that you will quickly and humanely destroy every last one of their unwanted, uncared-for, or unsupervised animals for them. They either grow up fast or, far more plausible, dump their animals elsewhere to become someone else’s problem.
You just can’t be an enabler of criminally irresponsible spineless and heartless idiots — or they remain that way. (At least where you live, anyway.)
IF THERE ARE NOT DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES TO THEIR CRIMINALLY-NEGLIGENT AND CRIMINALLY-IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIORS AND VALUES THEN THEY LEARN ABSOLUTELY *NOTHING*.
Anyone remember the cane toad????? And how can you create a virus while protecting house cats?? I think someone should create a virus to get rid of politicians and see if they can create the vaccine before they are eradicated !!
Yes, a virus targeted at politicians. That’s a good idea.
I don’t know what to say, except that this is an excellent alert to the ridiculousness of the situation within the Australian government.
Is the feral population within the colonies so large, that the idiots feel overwhelmed to do anything else –maybe something constructive?
The Australian authorities have been winging about feral cats and native species for decades. They just want to get rid of them anyway possible. Their hatred for the feral cat has made them loss the power of rational thought.
You’ve never heard of the phrase “hunted to extinction”? It works on any species. Especially one as prolific as these man-made cats that can breed 3-4X’s faster than any naturally occurring cat-species. It worked where I live! HUNDREDS of them shot dead and buried to stop them from gutting-alive and skinning-alive any more of our valuable native wildlife. The eradication so complete and effective that I’ve not seen even ONE cat in over four years now. (Spread some more of your “vacuum-effect” lies and deceptions. I laugh every time.) Hunted-to-extinction sure beats those failed trap & kill methods. Because trapping can NEVER catch-up to their breeding rates. ******* (deleted because it is rude). If trapping and killing them failed, then what makes you think that trapping and sterilizing them will be any better? **** (deleted).
Hi Woody, how are you? Hope you are keeping well 😉 Please try and engage your brain and stop being so angry and biased. Humans have hunted some species to extinction which is a great shame because we now regret it. I am thinking of the buffalo, for example, which was hunted to near-extinction. Are you proud of that? Was it a good thing to do?
Woody, one day someone will hunt you to extinction and what a happy day that will be for us so called morons.
Oh I can hardly wait!
Speaking of children:
People who let cats roam free should also be investigated by Family-Services & Social-Services if they have any children. If people see their cats as family members, and then let them roam free to be hit by cars, lap up antifreeze in gutters, or get killed by animal attacks; this does not bode well for them being responsible for ANY other lives in their care.
Are they going to tell their toddlers to go play in the freeway and then blame the cars for their children’s deaths too?
Not long ago a toddler died in a waterway after the parents let it wander off on its own, the parents blamed the water.
No doubt their very own children are just as expendable as their “family” cats.
Someone who lets cats roam free are showing signs of being incapable of responsibly taking care of ANY other lives. They need to be investigated for all facets of their lives. Children need to be removed from the homes of any and all such criminally-negligent and criminally-irresponsible caretakers for the children’s own safety.
On top of that, they don’t even care about the safety and well being of anyone else in the world. Do you know how many fatalities and lifelong debilitating injuries have been caused by vehicular accidents from people trying to avoid hitting a free-roaming cat? There needs to be a new bumper-sticker: “SAVE A LOVING FAMILY OF 4 — FLATTEN A CAT”
Free-roaming-cat-advocate = 100% certifiable sociopath/psychopath.
Hello Woody, this time I’ll publish your entire comment because I want to write an article about you briefly tomorrow which will ask the question whether you are Jim Stevenson who went to court in Galveston I think it was and who now lives in Florida. Anyway, we have found some comments with a photograph of Jim Stevenson and I will ask a question in an article where this is you or not. Of course, you will deny it but it’s worth spreading the word anyway to see whether it helps to pin this down.
You really should actually come out and stand up and be known because if you did that and if you wrote comments in a more polite and sensible way then what you state may actually be read but at the moment hardly anyone reads your comments. All we read is the first 3 lines or your username and we know immediately it is Woodsman.
You are wasting so much time writing long comments that no one reads. Try and shorten them and waste less time. You always say the same thing so why not just write a master comment and cut and paste it into everything because that is all you do anyway. Perhaps you don’t work and therefore you like to waste time. Sad really.
Gosh, James.
How about we do lunch sometime?
I’ll pick you up. You pay.
OOPS! Forgot! You, cowardly, ran out on your B&B in Galveston and, probably, are broke now.
I’ll buy!
LOL!! Too effin’ funny!
You useless idiots have been trying to find out who I am for over 3 years now. For the longest time you were firmly convinced I was any of 5 to 8 different people that you’ve hated for decades. You were wrong on all counts and are still wrong on all counts to this very day.
Here’s what I don’t get. If these psychotic net-stalking cat-lickers want to stop someone (me) from shooting all their cats, why are they going after someone they can’t even find and going through all that relentless net-stalking effort to do so? Is it because it is safe? Because they can always say, “We can’t find him to stop him! OH NO!” LOL
When today, this very hour, this very moment, you can go after someone and stop them, their friends, and all their families from shooting every last cat they see!
Here’s an even easier target for your false and manipulative accusations against others.
washingtontimes D0T com SLASH news/2010/dec/3/the-time-for-kitty-killing-has-come/
Just go after Ted Nugent. He, his family, and all his friends have shot far more HUNDREDS of cats than I ever have! Also all done perfectly legal as well. (I told you that you cat-licking fools don’t know squat about property and animal laws, and you refuse to believe it. Too bad, so sad!)
And you can find Mr. Nugent this very hour!
What’s the matter? Do you like to just blow smoke up everyone’s a** and not actually go after any real cat-killer? You know, ones that you can actually find, right now, today. LOL
I can and have found you.
LOL!!!
Okay, after you meet up with the person that you think I am, and cyber-bully them wrongly, see if my posts stop.
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!
A life of psychoses is a wonderful thing, isn’t it. You can convince yourself of anything.
ROFLMOAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woody you’re a despicable person, I hope you have no children as I really want your gene pool to end with you and not spread the infection that is you any further.
You’re such a liar and so deluded, James.
What’s your job woody? Are you retired? Disabled? Married?
I think Dee has found out who he is. I’ll do a post tomorrow on it with photo.
NO sane person in the world wants to get a bunch of sociopathic and psychotic cat-lickers invading their personal lives. All that do learn this lesson learn it far far too late.
Take this most recent example, a loving veterinarian who tried to save the life of a sick cat from one of their outdoor hoarded TNR colonies. These sociopathic and psychopathic wastes-of-flesh cyber-bullied this caring and loving veterinarian to suicide.
banvetabuse D0T blogspot D0T co D0T uk SLASH 2014_03_01_archive D0T html
blogs D0T hudsonvalley D0T com SLASH pets-power/2014/03/03/veterinary-community-alleges-cyberbullying/
Google for: LOEWS HOTELS FERAL CATS, if people don’t believe what these psychotic cat-licking whack-jobs do to everyone on the planet.
Another replay of what these cat-licking cyber-bullying sociopaths do, Google for: CATS VENICE COMPLEX REPRIEVE
A $150 million renovation project for low-income housing, put on hold, jobs lost, money lost, homeless still homeless, court costs and lawyers, just to save a few of their feral vermin c-Rats. And the saddest part of all, the vast majority of these TNR’ed cats had already died heinous inhumane deaths from TNR-practitioners’ “humane death by attrition” re-abandonment philosophy. (Road-kill, diseases, parasites, injuries, environmental poisons, cat & animal attacks, exposure, etc.)
Similar scenarios can be found daily and weekly by Googling for feral cats and churches, universities, hospitals, shopping centers, malls, apartment complexes, etc. Cat-lickers delusionally believe that any land on which a cat has stepped-foot is their own property and they can manipulate and control the owners and all laws on it.
This is precisely why everyone is learning to destroy all cats on their properties as quickly and quietly as possible. Telling nobody beforehand about any cats even being there. Long before these psychotic cyber-bullying cat-licker sociopaths and psychopaths get wind of the cats. Shoot (or trap & drown) cats first — tell no-one later. The only thing worse than feral cats are feral cat-lickers. You can legally shoot the former, not the latter. You need to pay lawyers and courts to get rid of the latter. THEN you can get rid of their cats. And the sad part is, that’s EXACTLY what happens, each and every time.
People are wising-up. If ANY cats are around they destroy every last one of them first, before they make any other move. Before these cyber-bullying cat-lickers can do anything about it to try to destroy and waste everyone’s lives even more than they already have with their disease-infested invasive-species vermin cats. Not quite the results that these cat-lickers had intended, but that’s what they’re getting! 🙂
Shame and bizarre.
I can’t find the words to express my feelings about something so vicious and cruel. This insanity might even supercede my feelings about kill shelters.
They have lost their marbles (UK expression meaning gone mad).
The cheese fell off their crackers (US expression to the same).
I like this American saying. It certainly fits the bill.