Wildcat flooding in Australia Cat eradication plan is difficult to implement

SYDNEY, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A study shows that Australia's 99.00% With 8% of the country invaded by wildcats, the local ecology is seriously endangered, and the government's goal of eliminating 2 million wildcats between 2015 and 2020 is out of reach.

According to australia's "Sydney Morning Herald" reported on the 5th, the survey by 40 environmentalists shows that the total number of wildcats in Australia fluctuates between 2.1 million and 6.3 million according to weather changes, and prey will appear in large quantities after large-scale rainfall, and the number of wildcats will also reach a peak.

Gregory Andrews, commissioner of the Australian Department of Environment and Energy's Endangered Species Conservation Agency, said Australia is the only continent in the world except Antarctica that no cats have existed during animal evolution, so wild cats are a huge hazard to native wildlife. To date, wildcats have brought nearly 20 species of Australian wildlife to the brink of extinction.

Sarah Legg, an environmentalist at the University of Queensland who led the study, said the feral cat flood had forced authorities to spend huge sums of money on conservation, and while the measures worked, they were still a drop in the bucket.

"Cats are very special carnivores, and they prefer to prey on specific species of animals, such as rabbits," Legg said. They will kill every predator. ”

It is understood that European immigrants brought cats to Australia more than 200 years ago, because cats have no natural enemies in the local area, coupled with amazing breeding capabilities, the number of wild cats has grown rapidly, causing damage to the local ecology. The Australian federal government has previously proposed a "cat extermination plan" to kill feral cats, but has been opposed by animal rights groups.