A Michael Broad Blog
Are domestic cats an invasive species? It depends on where you are. A lot of people say that domestic cats are an invasive species but that can’t be true for every country. In the countries of their origin they are not invasive species. That would include Syria and countries around Syria in my view. …
Are there any cats native to Australia? No, there are no cat species native to Australia. This is another reason why the authorities – state and federal governments – on the continent, in general, hate the feral cat which they believe decimates their native species, particularly their small mammals. The reason why feral cats …
Libby Watson writing on splinternews.com coins a term which I like: birdheads. It’s a derivation of ‘petrolheads’ (car lovers) and it is very apt. It applies to ornithologists and people such as Jonathan Franzen, an American novelist and essayist, who prefers birds to cats. He thinks they are more important. And he believes that …
Dr. Guy Ballard is a research officer and lecturer. He supervises PhD students. He got his doctorate at The School of Environmental and Rural Science (ERS) at the University of New England (AU), New South Wales, Australia. Okay, he is an experienced, and I’d say, a respected scientist with a lot of specialist experience …
Yes, we are back to that evergreen topic: the Australian government’s proposals to cull millions of feral cats in order to save native animals that they love and who define the nation. They’re making a choice between an invasive species that they dislike and native species which they love. They should remind themselves that …
Ecosystems are complex. In order to understand the role of the domestic cat in respect of predation, it is important to recognise that the cat is one of a large group of predators some of which are native and some introduced (non-native species). Other introduced species such as rats and mice can have an …
For several years, in full public view on the Internet, the Australian authorities have been searching for ways to bring the feral cat on their continent under their control. They want to eradicate the feral cat and have put forward ambitious plans to kill millions but time and again it has dawned upon them …
In what appears to be an off-the-cuff remark, Maggie Barry, New Zealand’s conservation Minister suggested that households should be restricted to a maximum of two cats. She claims that an excessive cat population in New Zealand was endangering the famous, flightless bird, the Kiwi. New Zealand is apparently the place where you will find …
