This news has caused outcry from cat lovers and defenders of the animal cause…
The Australian government has taken the radical decision to put down two million feral cats because they occupy 99.8 % of the island country and are a danger to local fauna.
Feral cats
It is important not to confuse feral cats with other naturally wild cat breed such as the European Wildcat and the African Wildcat.
A feral cat is one that was originally or was born of a domesticated cat but who is not dependent on humans for food because they hunt small game. They were left to nature, they reproduced and now live as wild animals.
In Australia, they are become a nightmare for local fauna, and therefore the Australian government has decided to get rid of them.
Formidable hunters
The omnipresence of feral cats has serious consequences on Australian fauna.
The felines have been blamed for the disappearance of 30 odd species, principally mammals such as bandicoots and large-eared jumping mice.
Australia, with the exception of Antarctica, was previously the only continent where the presence of cats was inexistent, which is why the fauna is so vulnerable to them.
Causing outrage
The announcement caused animal associations to leap to action, Brigitte Bardot calling it a "ridiculous and inhuman animal genocide." Many people consider humans to be at fault for the spread of feral cats in the country because they are by definition cats that were abandoned to nature.
The Australian government has defended their decision, explaining that they wish to preserve their ecosystem, and if the cats continue to spread out over the country, the feral cats will still be condemned to die through not having enough food to sustain them.
Sarah Legge, an Australian researcher, has mentioned the possibility of using wild dogs and dingos for hunting the facts.
Some see in this situation a vicious circle, because with the extinction of feral cats, other species could start to take over the resources in turn.
What do you think of the Australian government's decision?
Amanda H