Killing unowned cats

Catching cats is time consuming and difficult, so it is unlikely that all cats will be caught. New cats will move into territories that have become vacant, and together with those remaining will continue to breed, so before long the population will be back to where it was. Decades of killing foxes has shown that eradication doesn't work, since the fox population has not been reduced in the long-term.

During the time when there is a temporary reduction in cat numbers, immediately after a trapping/killing effort, rodent populations can increase due to the removal of a major predator.

 

If baits are then laid to kill the rats and mice, wildlife is endangered either by eating the baits directly, or by eating poisoned rats and mice. In New Zealand, a wide range of birds have been found dead after the use of an anticoagulant rat poison (1).

An experienced bird carer in Adelaide reported that a whole family of owls died after eating poisoned mice.

The restrictions designed to identify and confine owned cats impose a severe financial burden on the most disadvantaged sections of society, and undermine positive initiatives to control cat numbers.