Cat catchers take on feral menace
CAT catchers have decided to take matters into their own hands to curb Tasmania’s out-of-control feral feline population.
Retired parole officer Ron Snashall and a group of his mates have been raising money to buy cat traps, which they are setting around the Central Plateau.
Mr Snashall said he was galvanised into action when he saw a documentary about how feral cats were devastating Tasmania’s native quoll population.
“I got angry enough to do something about it, so I rang a couple of friends and we decided we’d raise some money. Within two weeks we raised $2500,” Mr Snashall said.
“Cats are predating on really wonderful native animals – they’re very successful
hunters, no doubt about that. We need to do something about it.”
Mr Snashall has already set up a couple of traps in Bronte Park, snagging 37 feral cats in the first two weeks.
A stomach content analysis of some of the cats found they had been snacking on currawong, pygmy possum and honey-eating birds.
Feral cats are also fond of eating penguins, as Bicheno Penguin Tours owner Nic Wardlaw knows all too well.
Mr Wardlaw said the cats were utterly “brazen”, stalking penguins along the beach in broad daylight even when humans were watching.
He said some of the tour guides had received some pretty nasty battle scars while trying to extricate the cats from their traps.
“We’ve been operating penguin tours in Bicheno for over 30 years and feral cats have been a problem from day one,” Mr Wardlaw said.
“We can have half a dozen cats prowling around our rookery at any one time. They’re a constant threat, especially once the penguin chicks hatch.”
Neonatal Kitten Rescue Hobart director Gabrielle Peacock said there were about 250,000 ferals around Tasmania, making them a substantial threat to the native ecosystem.
Ms Peacock said they did not trap cats, because they did not consider it an effective tactic, but they have been desexing cats around the neighbourhood to control the feral population.
She said their carers were bracing for a surge of abandoned cats, with the kitten season just beginning to enter full swing in Tasmania.
“We’ve had two or three calls just today. It’s starting to rain kittens,” Ms Peacock said.
“We’re going to be busy, that’s for sure.”