A limit on the number of cats and a curfew are among the drastic measures the Albanian government is considering as it spends $60 million to cull feral cats.
Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on Wednesday that the money will be used to fund 55 projects to protect Australian wildlife.
Up to 5.6 million feral cats roam the country, killing an estimated 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, as well as 1.1 billion invertebrates each year.
Having contributed to two-thirds of mammal extinctions in Australia, the projects aim to “humanely capture and eradicate” the predators.
Kangaroo and Christmas Island national parks have been used as testing grounds to evaluate the effectiveness of traps, some equipped with AI, in killing feral cats and other pests.
The funding will also help develop “drone-based thermal cameras” and tracking technologies using wild cat DNA.
While Ms Plibersek’s plan will focus primarily on feral cats, it will also seek to limit the impact of domestic cats, which on average kill 186 animals a year.
A draft cat reduction plan, due to be submitted to parliament in the coming months, sets out possible regulations such as limits on households and curfews for domestic cats.
The Albanian government is “declaring war” on feral cats in a bid to help stem the estimated 7 million native animals killed each year (file photo)
Ms Plibersek said in a statement that the Albanian government “is serious about protecting our precious native species”.
“Feral cats are dangerous and ruthless predators, driving our threatened native species such as the greater bilby, numbat and Gilbert’s potoroo to the brink of extinction,” he said.
‘Since declaring war on feral cats, we are mobilising artificial intelligence, cat-trapping technology and strong community action to combat this invasive pest and safeguard Australia’s biodiversity.
‘The projects also help land managers and farmers better protect land, livestock and native wildlife from feral cats.’
Ms Plibersek’s draft plan was agreed in principle by ministers from all of Australia’s states and territories in November last year.
While it won’t be able to force state governments to create new rules about domestic cats, it does require collaboration with their federal counterparts.
The plan would also attempt to address the impact of domestic cats, which kill fewer animals per year than feral cats but come at a higher cost in urban areas.
Local governments have also expressed concerns about their ability to control domestic cats and their tendency to abandon their homes and become feral.
Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek on Wednesday announced $60 million in funding for 55 projects aimed at “humanely capturing and eradicating” the predators.
Feral cats (pictured) have contributed to two-thirds of mammal extinctions in Australia and have helped endanger more than 200 other native animals.
One idea of the plan was to limit the number of “stray cats” by requiring owners to keep their pets indoors between dusk and dawn, when cats are most active.
He also suggested introducing limits on households, cat-free suburbs and neutering and registration requirements.
However, local governments would be empowered to “establish ordinances (such as cat bans) that are more easily adapted to local conditions,” according to the bill.
Several of them have already introduced rules and regulations regarding cats.
Victorian councils can order owners to keep their pets inside during certain hours of the day, including a 24-hour ban on stray cats in Knox City Hall in Melbourne’s east.
All cats born after July 2022 must remain on their owners’ property in the ACT, which also banned stray cats in 17 suburbs near wildlife hotspots.
Western Australia and New South Wales are still developing laws on cat ownership, but Perth councils have indicated that 24-hour curfews could be introduced.