Kangaroo Island Council proposes total cat ban amid fight to eradicate feral predators

The council of Australia’s third-largest island has considered a blanket ban on owning pet cats, in their battle to save endangered species on a pristine paradise.

Kangaroo Island Council in South Australia has been raging war against feral cats maiming its native wildlife since 2015.

Spanning six times larger than Singapore and with more native plants than in any other region of South Australia, the island is home to numerous native ecosystems.

The council is now currently considering on a ban of any new pets being introduced to the island as part of a joint eradication project.

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly said a “last cat policy” was keenly being considered by the council to “rid Kangaroo Island of (feral) cats and not allow any more cats in.”

“That doesn’t mean granny with her cat is going to lose that overnight, that’s not going to happen at all,” Mayor Pengilly said.

“But, bear in mind, the minute a cat goes out of the house it becomes a feral animal.” he said.

The policy could take up to 30 years to be implemented as it’s “not that far advanced,” and would be “in tandem” with the state government.

The council aims to totally strip the island of the invasive species by 2030.

If this goal is achieved, Kangaroo Island would become one of the worlds biggest inhabited islands to be free of feral cats.

“It’s simplistic to think we could just make it happen, because it’s not that simple. To get an ideal outcome it could take 10, 20, 30 years, I just don’t know.” he said.

Pet cats could be an issue for the project, Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough warned.

“One of the biggest risks is a couple of people have a couple of cats not registered, not desexed, that get out and have some kittens.

“Then you start the process over again and no one wants to be doing that when you’ve spent millions of dollars to get to that point.” he said.

Feral cats have an “enormous” contribution to the decline of annual sheep production, to the tune of $12 million, through diseases like toxoplasmosis, a parasite that can cause major reproductive losses in sheep, according to Mayor Pengilly.

“They’re awful things, so we’ve just got to do something about it … they’re highly proficient killers,” he said.

As part of an ambitious, ongoing removal project with Kangaroo Island Council, the island’s east region has almost entirely removed feral cats from the Dudley Peninsula.

“There’s an opportunity for the dunnarts, the echidnas, the penguins, the sea lions, for all the native wildlife there that’s endangered … to get those cats gone once and for all,” Mr Gough said.

So far, only 150 remain with 2,800 cats removed.

“Of those 150, they’re expecting a 95 per cent reduction in cat population this winter, but then it’s two more years of hard effort to get it down to zero, keep it at zero, and confirm it at zero.” Mr Gough said.

In December last year, the project received $1.61 million by the federal government, however the Invasive Species Council said to fully fund the largest feral cat removal project ever undertaken on an inhabited island anywhere in the world, $3.1 million more was needed.

“Feral cats are the biggest driver of animal extinction in Australia and seriously threaten the island’s wildlife, including the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart and vulnerable little penguin colonies.” Mr Gough said in a statement.

In early March, the Dudley Peninsula project received $800,000 in funds, which the Invasive Species Council applauded would help place “South Australia at the forefront of one of the most significant conservation achievements in our nation’s history.”

A spokesman from the federal government told the ABC that the additional $1.61 million represented “a significant additional investment in this project on top of more than $3 million previously provided through our Saving Native Species and National Heritage Trust programs”.