Mass Killing of Feral Cats Sparks Outrage in Australia and Beyond

Written by: Scott Haiduc
Scott Haiduc is the Director of Publishing for iHeartDogs, iHeartCats and The Hero Company. When not working, Scott spends his time on the farm, taking care of his animals and crops.Read more
| Published on April 29, 2019

WARNING: SOME IMAGES ARE DISTURBING!!

Australia aims to cull the feral cat population, reducing it dramatically by 2 million cats by the year 2020. Announced in 2015, the ‘animal genocide’ recently began in full force and the methods being employed are, understandably, sending shockwaves through leagues of animal lovers around the world.

Sausage Laced with 1080

Developed by David Algar, Ph.D., principal research scientist for the state of Western Australia, Eradicat is a sausage formulated specifically to be appealing to cats that is laced with a poison called 1080 that kills a feline within 15 minutes of consumption. Now being called Dr. Death, Algar was quoted as tastelessly saying, “They’ve got to taste good. They are the cat’s last meal.” Way to keep it classy, Dr. Death.

If baiting cats with a tasty sausage that will kill them in a quarter of an hour is not horrifying enough, consider for a moment how it is being delivered to the unsuspecting cats. Planes are flying overhead and dropping 50 of these death bombs from the sky every kilometer in the areas known to have dense feral cat populations. Does this not smell a bit like agent orange to anyone else?

Sausages made from kangaroo and chicken fat to entice feral cats. Image via Inverse.com

Money for Cat Scalps

Effective genocides rely on firing up the base and getting the peopleinvolved on the front lines and the cat genocide in Australia is no exception. To up the numbers of dead kitties, citizens are not only being encouraged but are being paid to kill cats by any means they deem necessary. How will they collect their $10 AUS our kill? By bringing the paying government officials the scalp of each dead cat, of course. Horrendous.

Trap and Shoot

But wait, there is more. Government officials have been trapping and shooting cats dead since the cull was first planned in 2015. This violence continues as the genocide ramps up. It is awakening a thirst in some to not only harm and kill helpless creatures, but to display there lifeless bodies like warnings. Is humanity not past stringing lifeless bodies from trees?

Photo via Rueters

The Reasoning

Undoubtedly, the feral cat population has grown out of control and is causing serious problems that need to be addressed. Actual figures are unknown but it is estimated that between 2-6 million feral cats live in Australia. Cats hunt and indigenous species are, apparently, on the decline. Cats are taking the blame.

Gregory Andrews is the National commissioner of threatened species in Australia. He said, “We have got to make choices to save animals that we love and who define us as a nation, such as the bilby, the wallaby and the parrot.”

There MUST Be a Better Way

Setting aside the argument as to whether the feral cats are the cause for the reduction in native species, something that is up for debate, there simply mustbe a better way to combat the problem than to kill, kill, kill. Sterilization seems like an option that should, at least, be considered. Perhaps a grass roots effort to trap, neuter, return?

And if mass extermination is the only possible solution, could it not at least be handled with the compassion, care, and respect due to all living things? Scalping cats or hanging them from trees by their tails is inexcusable and makes it evident that at least somepeople are enjoying this and have finally found an excuse to kill.