Australia writes to Brigitte Bardot in defense of killing feral cats
In open letters to French actress Brigitte Bardot and The Smiths singer Morrissey, Australia's commissioner for threatened animals defended the country鈥檚 plan to kill more than two million feral cats.
Announced in July, the country鈥檚 about 10 percent of its overall feral cat population is an effort to protect a multitude of threatened and endangered species. Gregory Andrews, Australia鈥檚 threatened species commissioner, says these smaller animals fall prey to the cats, and that the latter are responsible for the extinction of nearly 30 Australian mammal species in the past two centuries.
Accounting for 35 percent of total modern mammal extinction, this rate is the highest in the world.
鈥淭he lesser bilby, desert bandicoot, crescent nailtail wallaby and large-eared hopping-mouse are just some of the unique Australian species that the world has lost forever due to feral cats,鈥� Andrews and Mr. Morrissey. 鈥淭hese were delightful creatures, rich in importance in Australian Indigenous culture, and formerly playing important roles in the ecology of our country.鈥�
The Australian Department of the Environment cites cats as the biggest threat to native small mammals, birds, and lizards. According to Andrews, Australia鈥檚 20 million cats each kill five animals on average every day. This adds up to about 20 billion creatures killed by cats every year.
鈥淭he scientific evidence is very clear: By controlling feral cats, we reduce harm caused to Australian animals and the risk of their extinction,鈥� Andrews writes. 鈥淭ackling feral cats humanely and effectively is thus the highest priority of protecting Australian wildlife, particularly our mammals.鈥�
Australia鈥檚 $6-million plan is to shoot, trap, and poison feral cats. While some conservationists applaud it as a proactive method of restoring the continent鈥檚 wildlife, others are aghast by its grisly means.
Ms. Bardot is one of the most vocal opponents to the culling plan, calling it cruel and useless.
鈥淭his animal genocide is inhumane and ridiculous. In addition to being cruel, killing these cats is absolutely useless since the rest of them will keep breeding,鈥� the actress wrote in July. 鈥淵our country is sullied by the blood of millions of innocent animals so please, don鈥檛 add cats to this morbid record.鈥�
In his reply to Bardot, Andrews says many conservation NGOs are in support of Australia鈥檚 tactics, including the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy. Neither organization was able to confirm its approval to 海角大神 at the time of publication. 聽
Andrews explains that proposed alternatives, such as sterilizing the cats, are .
鈥淭rapping, neutering and releasing 20 million cats would not be justifiable in terms of cost,鈥� Andrews tells Guardian Australia. 鈥淎lso, we鈥檇 be releasing a predator that will kill five animals a day for the rest of its life. It鈥檚 not justifiable. We can鈥檛 accept feral cats as part of the Australian ecology because if we do then we accept the extinction of bilbies, bandicoots and numbats.
