Australia actually declares ‘war’ on cats, plans to kill 2 million by 2020

[Skull and Bones]

Any 90s kid will remember this comic book hero.

 

[katarabhumi]

Australia actually declares ‘war’ on cats, plans to kill 2 million by 2020

Comments 3


By Ishaan Tharoor July 16 at 3:51 PM
announced plans to cull up to 2 million feral cats by 2020 in a bid to preserve dozens of native species that authorities claim face extinction because of the cats' predatory behavior.

Speaking to a national radio station, Gregory Andrews, the country's first threatened-species Commissioner, said Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt "is declaring war on feral cats, and he's asked me to take charge of that program."

Hunt unveiled the five-year plan at a Melbourne zoo on Thursday, vowing to protect Australia's native mammal and bird populations.

"We are drawing a line in the sand today which says, 'On our watch, in our time, no more species extinction,'" Hunt said.

All of Australia's states and territories have agreed to list feral cats as "pests." The bulk of the government funding for the plan will go to administering the culls, which will involve baiting, shooting or poisoning feral cats. The government is taking many steps to prove that these actions will be carried out in as "humane and effective" a manner as possible.

"By 2020, I want to see 2 million feral cats culled, five new islands and 10 new mainland 'safe havens' free of feral cats, and control measures applied across 10 million hectares," Hunt said.

So what's so wrong about the cats?


The animals were introduced to the Antipodes about 200 years ago by European settlers and bred and spread rapidly across the Australian continent and New Zealand. According to one estimate, the roughly 20 million cats in Australia kill roughly 75 million native animals a day.


According to Britain's Guardian newspaper, Australia has one of the worst extinction records in the world, losing about 29 native mammal species since the European arrival. It now lists some 1,800 species as under threat.

Some of the most endangered animals include the greater bilby...



...the eastern bettong...



...the western quoll...



...and the numbat.


This is hardly the first time the scourge of feral cats has made national headlines in this part of the world. In 2013, a prominent economist turned environmental activist in New Zealand called for the wholesale eradication of the country's cats, deeming them "natural born killers."

Gareth Morgan's Web site contains this appeal to save New Zealand's native fauna, which developed as species for centuries in isolation:

New Zealand is the last refuge of a huge range of bird species, we’re famous for our claim to be clean and green, and some of us have recognised the huge economic benefit, let alone the ecological dividend, from achieving a Predator Free New Zealand.

But the vision is flawed. Almost half of Kiwi households have a cat (or two) making New Zealanders the world’s biggest cat owners 1. Cats are incredibly effective hunters and are wiping out our native birds.

The rest of the site is a jarring read, replete with cartoon drawings vilifying cats and explanatory text with headings such as "Your cat is not innocent."


Australian officials took a different line.

Australia actually declares ‘war’ on cats, plans to kill 2 million by 2020 - The Washington Post

@Reashot Xigwin

 

[jamahir]

EID MUBARAK

what is your view on the thread topic??

 

[Zarvan]

what is your view on the thread topic??

Same stupidity was done by Europe and after that they faced plague, not much different fate awaits for Australia if they go ahead with this sure short suicidal plan.

 

[doppelganger]

Same stupidity was done by Europe and after that they faced plague, not much different fate waits for Australia if they go ahead with this sure short suicidal plan.

Zarvan what is Islam's standpoint on dogs and cats?

Muslims (hardcore ones) don't keep dogs as pets right?

 

[jamahir]

Same stupidity was done by Europe and after that they faced plague

too right... the "dark ages" were cruel on human and cat.

not much different fate awaits for Australia if they go ahead with this sure short suicidal plan.

well, isn't australia less dense in population than medieval europe ( or even current europe )??

still, it is possible for a plague.

even still, i hope they don't go ahead with this genocide??

Zarvan what is Islam's standpoint on dogs and cats?

Muslims (hardcore ones) don't keep dogs as pets right?

while, as far as i know, there is no quranic verse about cats and dogs, it is known through the hadees books and i suppose other sources that prophet muhammad had a cat companion called muazza and one of the prophet's human companions was abu huraira who liked to go about with a cat perched on the shoulder.

there is dog mentioned as a "kindness to animals" type of story in hadees bukhari but that can be contradicted by asking if the prophet himself would have wanted dogs to roam in makkah which had cats... and dogs are generally considered as filthy creatures too, presumably because of their habits.

there is a story about the prophet... once the cat muazza was sleeping on the robe of the prophet... the prophet was then called to leave to somewhere... rather than wake the cat, the prophet chose to cut his robe with scissors and leave the cat sleeping.

from ( Cats in Islamic Culture | Muslim Heritage )...

They were respected as members of the family and protectors of the houses against deadly insects and harmful animals such as scorpions. More importantly, they were not just companions or pets, they were also examples to Muslims, people who submit themselves to One God, such as in the story of Ibn Babshad:

"The grammarian Ibn Babshad was sitting with his friends on the roof of a mosque in Cairo, eating some food. When a cat passed by they gave her some morsels; she took them and ran away, only to come back time and time again. The scholars followed her and saw her running to an adjacent house on whose roof a blind cat was sitting. The cat carefully placed the morsels in front of her. Bashbad was so moved by God's caring for the blind creature that he gave up all his belongings and lived in poverty, completely trusting in God until he died in 1067 (oral tradition recorded in the late 14th century by the Egyptian theologian and zoologist Damiri (d. 1405)" (Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo, p. 40).

 

[doppelganger]

and dogs are generally considered as filthy creatures too, presumably because of their habits.

I think this is your personal or possibly communal bias shining through?

In the circles I roam in, no one thinks of dogs as filthy, leave alone "generally."

Frankly I cannot stand cats myself. Weird cold and pretty creepy creatures if you ask me. And if I see one sitting on my bike's seat, I have been known to be pretty sadistic and patiently cruel to such that take above mentioned unsanctioned liberties.

I do however draw the line at killing them and always try my best from preventing my dogs from killing them either. Even though one (Irish Setter called Dopey) was a legendary cat killer. Every second day he would land up with a limp body of a cat dangling from his jaws. Most lethargic sleepy and lazy dog otherwise (hence his name). But there was a magical metamorphosis when a cat was around. If you know the dynamics of dogs and cats, you would know how almost impossibly tough it is for a dog to catch a cat, leave alone kill it. I've lost count of the number of cats we've buried who've been killed by Dopey, may God bless his soul.

O teri! 4000 posts mera baccha Dopey ka naam lekar!

 

[jamahir]

I think this is your personal or possibly communal bias shining through?

my personal bias where i understand why the prophet adored cats and why they have been adored by other cultures and worshiped in some ( egyptian and central/south american ).

 

[doppelganger]

my personal bias where i understand why the prophet adored cats and why they have been adored by other cultures and worshiped in some ( egyptian and central/south american ).

Yes I know certain cultures revere cats. Persians too I think.

 

[jamahir]

If you know the dynamics of dogs and cats, you would know how almost impossibly tough it is for a dog to catch a cat, leave alone kill it.

dogs hunt cats in gangs 99 percent of the time... when a dog sights a cat, the dog will emit a certain sound which immediately attracts nearby dogs... they will chase the cat... they will emit certain sounds depending on whether the cat has gone up a tree or gone into a compound or a gutter... the dogs co-ordinate positions.

if they are able to trap the cat, they will bite into the cat and torture the cat for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the cat's size and the cat's resistance.

for me, a cat's moan while being bitten so is the saddest sound in the world... i don't want to hear that sound... the best way to not hear that sound is eradicate every last dog.

the fanaticism i see in dogs when hunting a cat is exceeded by my fanaticism in hatred of the dog.

 

[doppelganger]

dogs hunt cats in gangs 99 percent of the time... when a dog sights a cat, the dog will emit a certain sound which immediately attracts nearby dogs... they will chase the cat... they will emit certain sounds depending on whether the cat has gone up a tree or gone into a compound or a gutter... the dogs co-ordinate positions.

if they are able to trap the cat, they will bite into the cat and torture the cat for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the cat's size and the cat's resistance.

for me, a cat's moan while being bitten so is the saddest sound in the world... i don't want to hear that sound... the best way to not hear that sound is eradicate every last dog.

the fanaticism i see in dogs when hunting a cat is exceeded by my fanaticism in hatred of the dog.

Boss, that is exactly my point!

My Dopey was a legend. A SOLO cat killer.

One moment he would be sleeping, stretched out in his salamander position. Snoring.

The next in a blur of golder red fur he would be 40 meters away and then a cloud of dust as he corners the cat and gets it.

 

[jamahir]

Boss, that is exactly my point!

My Dopey was a legend. A SOLO cat killer.

One moment he would be sleeping, stretched out in his salamander position. Snoring.

The next in a blur of golder red fur he would be 40 meters away and then a cloud of dust as he corners the cat and gets it.

let us stop this line of discussion... for me, cats the the closest to being holy creature.

 

[doppelganger]

let us stop this line of discussion... for me, cats the the closes to being holy creature.

Ok.

I thanked your previous post because of the graphic description.

It means you've actually seen the hunt and the kill.

The sound is more like a yowl. Much like a tom cat at night. Only in pain rather than hormones.

 

[livingdead]

dogs hunt cats in gangs 99 percent of the time... when a dog sights a cat, the dog will emit a certain sound which immediately attracts nearby dogs... they will chase the cat... they will emit certain sounds depending on whether the cat has gone up a tree or gone into a compound or a gutter... the dogs co-ordinate positions.

if they are able to trap the cat, they will bite into the cat and torture the cat for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the cat's size and the cat's resistance.

for me, a cat's moan while being bitten so is the saddest sound in the world... i don't want to hear that sound... the best way to not hear that sound is eradicate every last dog.

the fanaticism i see in dogs when hunting a cat is exceeded by my fanaticism in hatred of the dog.

dogs are pack animals, like us. we also hunted in packs thats why we survived big dangerous animals, and even ate mammoths.

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

@Reashot Xigwin