TheGhostWhoWalks wrote:Shooting one or one hundred cats will make absolutely no difference in the grand scheme of things.
Disagree. At a local area level, a couple of people shooting regularly can make a meaningful impact. When I came to the property I'm on now, rabbits were everywhere, cats were seen regularly, bandicoots rarely seen as were quolls. Four years on, it's the other way around... bandicoots everywhere (they tear apart my front lawn), plenty of quolls, maybe see a feral cat once a month or two and as for rabbits, well there's still the odd one kicking about but I haven't had rabbit pie in a while now
Of course what's needed are a majority of landowners putting in the effort to control pests on their own properties - too many can't/won't/don't do enough - as well as in state forests and other public areas. If the government wants to get involved, then coordinating a farmer assist program to help get urban based hunters out on their properties and help them do the work. Many city based hunters are all too keen to help, getting access to properties is always a sticking point. A formal program could help to weed out the 1% of *&^%$#@! who scare off landowners, as well as coordinate where effort should be places and to capture the appropriate data for analysis.
In the grand scheme of things, what's REALLY REQUIRED is actually stopping idiots from dumping unwanted kittens/cats in the bush, the muppets who feed feral populations, as well as actually getting cat owners to properly secure their pets and not let them roam.
TheGhostWhoWalks wrote:A cat flu or similar that can wipe out thousands after registered moggies have been vaccinated is one of the only realistic options.
You may well be right but I'd rather us properly evaluate a more humane solution first. A bullet to the head results in little to no pain. Dying a slow miserable death from some kind of disease certainly doesn't. I've seen too many myxo/calici'd rabbits in various stages of agony. Horrible stuff.
TheGhostWhoWalks wrote:And the mythical fox is still consuming vital funds for serious pest management in this state.
To be fair the FFTF, since their inception, have always been knocking over feral cats. They just didn't make much noise about it because you get the weirdo cat loving freaks having a whinge. At least now it's a general Invasive Species Unit though. Better late than never.