Guest essay by Eric Worrall
An Australian ecologist has created and deployed a killing machine, which uses robot technology to identify and spray feral cats with poison. The cats die when they lick the deadly poison off their fur. The feral cats are being targeted, because of the threat they pose to rare and endangered birds.
Robots, lasers, poison: the high-tech bid to cull wild cats in the outback
A trial of ‘grooming traps’ is aiming to eradicate one of the biggest threats to Australian wildlife – feral felines.
It took John Read, an ecologist seven years to invent and produce four of the “grooming traps”. After extensive testing, he has switched on the first one in a nature reserve in south-west Queensland.
“Cats are hard-wired to hunt,” Read said. That means they can kill dozens of animals a night but it also means they are often reluctant to eat baits since they prefer to kill an animal themselves.
“This trap targets the cats’ achilles heel,” Read said. Being fastidious groomers, cats will lick off almost anything that gets on their fur. So Read has developed a trap that exploits their tendency to try to get their numbers under control.
With four laser rangefinders, the trap detects when something moves in front of it. If it’s taller than a cat – perhaps a dingo or a koala – the top rangefinder will be triggered and it shuts down. Similarly, a rangefinder at the bottom needs to be able to see between the cat’s legs, meaning a low-slung animal like a wombat or a quoll won’t trigger it.
Finally, two rangefinders at the front and back of the trap need to be triggered simultaneously, indicating something the length of a cat has moved in front of it.
This device is obviously not quite the deadly Terminator cyborg from science fiction, but it has to be seen as a big step towards building scary autonomous robotic killing machines. Who would have thought an ecologist would come up with something like that? Perhaps we should all start being nicer to our local bird watchers, especially those with an Ecology degree – there is no telling what they are working on in their basements.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
hmmm? 🙂
I wonder if they have a close turnstile on Parliament house?
few ferals there also
I am rather shocked to see many commenters who see no problem with having cats roam freely. Terms like “cat hater” seems to be common usage from those who don’t seem to grasp that their house cat was named a ‘house cat’ for a reason. This is referenced to cat owners in general and nearly all seem to be as religious about it as a fervent climate alarmist.
As far as the ‘eastern coyote’ goes, the only good purpose they serve is their diet of cats.
So call me a ‘cat hater’ if you wish, but I have no issue with house cats.
eyesonu,
Who said that cats should be able to roam freely? I certainly disagree with that.
The central question is: what’s the best solution to the feral cat problem?
From the comments, most folks think the wholesale poisoning of any mammals the size of cats isn’t the best solution. There is probably no completely effective solution. But poisoning is pretty far down the list.
By now feral cats have their ecological niche. If they were completely eradicated, the rodent and rabbit populations would skyrocket; is there any doubt?
Personally, I think the feral cat ‘problem’ is making a molehill into a mountain. Listen to what the local farmers say. They don’t want feral cats eliminated. And they’re the ones who would know best.
I suspect this “ecologist” is angling for a grant. But that’s just my guess. Does anyone here think he’d turn down some grant money?
[Snip. Impostor. -mod]
Quote * I am very, very reluctant to go near cats though..* I would add ferrets and stoats to that.
Nothing strange or unusual here, you just have to understand, vindicating Godwin, that we Australians divide up the animal kingdom much as the Nazis did humanity: for native animals (roos wombats etc), nothing’s too good for them; with domesticated animals (cows chickens dogs etc), we exploit them as we see fit, and treat them well as it suits us; and finally we have feral animals (foxes cats goats etc) which you are encouraged to kill in lots of nasty ways. The equivalent Nazi triad of course is Arians, Slavs, and subhumans. I often wonder if Peter Singer the Aussie animal rights philosopher, whose expanding circle of rights encompasses animals too, ever worries that there might be back contamination from the Aussie view of animals onto the way we treat humans, rather than leading us, as he hopes, to treat animals like humans.
With all the deadly snakes (100 species!), spiders, sharks, crocodiles, and even jellyfish that can be found in Australia, this twit is out to kill feral CATS?!
Hmmmm … Maybe the cats had a taste for ground-nesting bird species; an intractable situation for the bird I would think …
• Rats are a FAR bigger problem for ground nesting birds than feral cats are.
• Ferals prefer rodents to birds (see link upthread).
• Whenever feral cats are eliminated, the rat/rodent population explodes.
Draw your own conclusions…
I doubt rate or mice are a problem where the night parrots live. Cats (and maybe foxes) are.
“Who would have thought an ecologist would come up with something like that?”
John Wamsley was a pioneer-
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/conservation-the-environment/warrawong-sanctuary/#.VxT8pPl9670
Known affectionately as the cat hat man-
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=john+walmsley+cat+hat&rlz=1C1QJDB_enAU612AU612&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=925&tbm=isch&imgil=s9VZ1m6u8dN0fM%253A%253BoeCoEDEPUI9pcM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Faso.gov.au%25252Ftitles%25252Fdocumentaries%25252Fwamsleys-war%25252Fclip1%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=s9VZ1m6u8dN0fM%253A%252CoeCoEDEPUI9pcM%252C_&usg=__N4Jb4VVl2ihP_qHP7wHFnZaLqfY%3D&dpr=1&ved=0ahUKEwiGrq-yv5jMAhVCmpQKHSWoAh0QyjcIPQ&ei=RPwUV4b8HMK00gSl0IroAQ#imgrc=s9VZ1m6u8dN0fM%3A
Reax. It’s culturally quite OK for a whitefella like John Wamsley to want to bump off the puddy tats-
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/27/traditional-hunters-and-western-science-join-forces-in-the-fight-against-feral-cats
When someone tells me that feral cats are easy to catch, they just proved that they’ve never really trapped animals.
They’re very easy to trap. I’ve done it dozens of times. But it makes no sense in a place like Australia. The problem is with this “ecologist” believing that his proposed solution will make any difference.
The real culprits are those who won’t get their pets spayed or neutered. Requiring that would go a long way toward slowing the growth of the feral population. Anyone with a cat as a pet should be required to show that it’s been fixed. Fertile cats are the root of the problem.
Automated laser-guided killing machines eh?
Just about what you would expect from a 21st century “ecologist”.
First they came for the cats…
As I remember, some time in the 1930s an ecologist had a brilliant idea to eliminating some beetle that was eating the sugar cane.
That didn’t end well.
I like cats better than I like ecologists and their plans to cull the world of whatever doesn’t match their fantasy of how things should be.
Never tried cat; a friend of mine tried squirrel once, but, finding fine hair on the meat (while eating it) was a real turnoff … maybe the same for cat …
Dingos are predators. Apparently Thylacines were also once prevalent in Australia, so that refutes the argument that “these species evolved without any predators”.
Quolls are also scavengers, who will eat a dead cat’s poisoned carcass. Also doesn’t take into account insectivores (including birds) , who will eat the insects (themselves immune to the 1080, but having it in their tissues) that will also scavenge the cat carcasses. Never mind the carcasses that may end up in a water supply far away from where they died..
Back to the drawing board, and use more thought this time.
“Back to the drawing board, and use more thought this time.”
Yup. Like something that works on the ‘cat lady’ at the end of the block with +50 some cats that can be seen during ‘shift change’ in then morning climbing over the wooden backyard fence …
Whoops – did I just post that on a public forum?
Jim, the article is about feral cats in remote rural areas of Australia, did you miss that?.
Obviously, I have no idea where you live, but for in-town cat hoarders, which is what you appear to be concerned about and dealing with, a camera (video or otherwise) could be your best friend. Armed with evidence you could approach your neighbors, town council, or county animal control for assistance with the apparent nuisance your neighbor is creating.
The are many orgs that will assist with TNR and nuisance cat relocation (feral or otherwise) in a lot of areas.
I live in California, and my county had one of the highest feral cat populations on the entire west coast, never mind the state (cat ladies and gentlemen are endemic here) and our shelter (and other) kills were astronomical with no alleviation of the problem in sight.
We went to TNR almost 4 years ago with grants from private orgs (my county is also one of the poorest in the state). Spay/neuter has been mandatory here for the past decade. Most of the feral cats were/are “dumpees” from places like the Bay Area. Anyone caught dumping a cat (or dog) now faces a hefty fine.
Since TNR started, the feral cat population has plummeted, and cat shelter kills have dropped by 3/4. An existing colony of s/n cats returned to their area will generally keep newcomers out, and diminishes on its own through natural attrition. Young TNR kittens with potential for becoming pets are placed with fosters after health screens and not returned.
The cat ladies and gentlemen in my area still get to feed various TNR colonies, but they have a much better sense of the overall picture now. Before, they were afraid to ask for help, because they knew the cats would just be automatically killed. Maybe that’s also the case with your neighbor?
Nuisance behavior is the problem, not the cats. I have a neighbor that collects old cars in various states of disrepair and parks them all over, another has a garage band and favors 3am hot tub parties.
BTW the biggest threat to the birdlife in my area is habitat destruction/land use changes and pesticides, never was the cats.
To msbehavin’
Sorry, I must have missed placing a ‘sarc’ closing tag for humor impaired at the end of my post.
I apologize.
The problem took care of itself as the cat hoarder moved (or was eaten by said cat hoard; sorry, more humor!)
NP Jim 🙂 Thanks.
I am sensitized more than most to both sides of the cat hoarder/cat hater issue.
I say arm the Aussie 15 y/o’s, teach ’em how to shoot, and send them on a “wilderness adventure” to the outback/bush where the cats are. And get their parents to pay for it all :-0
Oops, forgot that the snakes and large monitor lizards are also predatory. Looks like a couple hundred species of snakes, many arboreal. Goannas also will scavenge.
1080 breaks down very quickly in the environment — and likely by metabolism as well — as evident by the long decades of efficacious use
Feral Cats don’t belong in Australia — they are an invasive species
“1080 breaks down very quickly in the environment — and likely by metabolism as well — as evident by the long decades of efficacious use”
Not sure exactly what you mean by “very quickly”, or “likely” . Sources? Specifics?
Not the case according to either New Zealand or US scientists.
http://1080science.co.nz/carcasses/ (This is very interesting , the site has all the research on 1080 in NZ, doesn’t appear to be an “advocacy” site either pro or con).
In the US it is only sparingly allowed in 4 states out of our 50 and is strictly controlled even there.
very quickly.. sources: nature.. where we extracted it from – evidence: the lack of accumulating corpses around the pea plants, the bioaccumulators from which we extracted 1080 in the first place.
I’ve a nice toxicology book on Western Australian native plants which makes mention of how soil dwelling bacteria appear to break down 1080 ‘rapidly’ – worms are noted to die when when rainwater passes across damaged leaves into soil carrying 1080 with the rain, yet decomposed peas do not kill worms. Conclusion: it breaks down quickly. many native animals do not drop dead when interacting with native peas – many introduced animals do.. the wikipedia entry on 1080 makes mention that cats and dogs seem particularly susceptible to it..
Being just another common type of plant poison in Oz, it’s probably a good poison to use here – elsewhere in the world I’d not be so enthusiastic about it’s use.
Just as elsewhere in the world where cats are endemic, I’d not be so keen on their control – but in Oz where we have no cats and few placental mammals beyond rats, bats and one dog, I’m happy to protect this islands rich and unique repository of marsupials and monotremes.
One of the problems with housecats is they are hardwired to hunt. Some years ago, there was a study done in England on kill rates by pet cats that were allowed to roam outside. Their conclusion was that each home fed cat still killed approximately 500 animals/birds per year.
Will says:
Their conclusion was that each home fed cat still killed approximately 500 animals/birds per year.
Ridiculous.
If it’s not a descendant of a domestic cat, what is it then? No other felines have escaped to form wild populations in this country. Many posters here seem to think the night parrot habitat is just down the road from a town. In reality it’s in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kms from the nearest town, which most people would call a village. In my view the saving of the night parrot is the paramount issue here. The robot exterminator is the best bet for a reserve which cannot be manned at all times.
“If it’s not a descendant of a domestic cat, what is it then? ”
Somewhere up thread a poster mentioned a 38lb “feral cat” that was killed. This is not likely to be a mutated pure “domestic cat”.
However, for quite some time all over the world, including in Australia, people have been creating hybrids of domestic cats and larger wild species (Serval, African wild cat, etc.) for the pet market which when unneutered may reproduce in the wild, if dumped there or escaped from captivity.
It seems that some of these reported very large “feral cats” could be some of these hybrids.
In the US and Britain these types of “feral cats” are observed and caught with more frequency than one might imagine. DNA testing confirms their hybrid status.
We agree on saving very endangered bird species like the night parrot, just don’t think 1080 is an answer because it potentially creates more problems than it solves, if the track record of New Zealand’s use of 1080 to diminish rat populations in order to save endangered ground-nesting birds is any indication.
Rotating shifts of experienced outback hunters would likely do a more efficient job of eradicating the cats (and other invasive species).
Apart from zoos, no cats other than domestic ones have been imported or allowed to be kept in Australia. There is simply no other gene pool from which to draw upon for the “big size genes” exhibited in feral cats. I don’t see what’s so difficult about the concept of moggies becoming so bloody big after generations in the bush. There are wide variations across the domestic cat, from Devon Rex through to Maine coon. Feral cats can be big. They eat native wildlife. They are everywhere and in large numbers. Get rid of the lot of them, end of story.
“…typical eco-fascist response…”…
Seriously..??…And did the quasi hippy have a better method..?…silence….if you are not bright enough to understand or care that cats are wiping out our small marsupials..(and now making the larger ones blind from disease ).then go back to sleep..anyway..I hope this method works .http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/greg-hunt-calls-for-eradication-of-feral-cats-that-kill-75m-animals-a-night/story-fn59niix-1226939644027
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMFkAuP73QQ
oops- fail-
this was the link i meant to post:
If you can’t beat em .. eat em.
See the cat, spray the cat… cat dies, scavenger eats the cat, scavenger dies and so on and so on. Catch and fix would work so much better. A fixed cat cannot have 6 to 8 kittens every 8 weeks or so. This is about the stupidest idea I have heard of yet.