Feral cats
Feral cats refer to those that live, reproduce and hunt in the wild, using their traits to adapt to the Australian environment and prey on native wildlife.
Cats now occupy 99 per cent of Australia, including many offshore islands.
Impact of feral cats
Feral cats are one of the primary causes of the decline and extinction of native Australian species.
Cats prey on small native and exotic mammals, birds, lizards and insects. An estimated 80 endangered and threatened species are preyed on by wild cats.
Feral cats can also spread and carry diseases that affect humans and other animals.
Feral cat control
As feral cats occupy such a vast area of Australia, control is quite difficult. Control options for cats are limited and this means broad-scale and landscape level control is both expensive and limited in effectiveness
Small scale methods such as trapping and shooting can be used to control their numbers. We encourage landholders to report feral cat management activity via Feral Scan and participate in any research into new control options.
For more information on pest species and biosecurity, visit Pestsmart and the Department of Primary Industries.
Otherwise, please contact your local Biosecurity Officer if you require feral cat pest animal management advice.
Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plans
We've worked with regional pest animal committees and the community to develop regional strategic pest animal management plans in each of our 11 Local Land Services regions.
Your Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plans will tell you what priority pest animal pest animals you need to manage and how.
Read your Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plan: