Should we eradicate cats in Australia?

[Skids]

We used to trap them and kill them when I worked at Argyle, the site I work at now and the one prior, the enviros have the pleasure.

We rigged up this big esky to a CO2 bottle and used that.

I tell you what, some of these beasts are massive!

My old mate dirty, he had a fishing rod with a big hook and used to catch 'em at the tip that way. A baseball bat was his weapon of choice.

Charming. What a beautiful little story.
Wouldn't expect anything less.

I made the esky as a humane way to kill them. Prior to that, Dirty would don a pair of welding gloves, pull them out of the trap and cut their throats.
I couldn't believe it!
My esky design won me a $100 Bunnings voucher.

They are culled on most mine-sites, seeing one with a baby bungarra in its mouth is enough for me.

Why aren't they at least licensed as dogs have to be?
I have to pay $50/year for Pete as she's still intact, I think it drops to $10/year if she is sterilized.

There definitely needs to be some control in place and continued culling of them in the outback.

[K]

...
... As I also said, as with dogs, the laws need enforcing. Cats should not be allowed to roam.

...
Are there currently any laws protecting the birds from cats?? As far as I'm aware, no cat owner or cat has ever been held responsible for roaming in public and killing birds.

And who holds the birds responsible for the creatures they kill? Do you think birds eat grass?

If your pet budgie starts going Terminator and with its fellow pet budgies goes wiping out whole species, then ---- absolutely, yes ---- you are responsible. Remember we're not talking about tigers in the wild here.

It's possible for such a thing to happen, not by cat-style violence, but by the introduction of diseases. And, guess what? Animals with such diseases that could wipe out native fauna would never be allowed to be imported as pets (or non-pets) into the country.

This is not actually a thread about human veganism, or humans who force their pets to be vegan (which will be fatal for the cat), so birds not living on grass is not really relevant. But, since you raise it, let's note again that you talk about the bird eating, whereas, as we've mentioned at least a couple of times already, the cats don't eat the birds but simply kill them for pleasure.

[Skids]

^ and it's not only birds, it's lizards, small marsupials, amphibians, fish and insects.

In Australia, cats have been implicated in the extinction of at least 20 mammal species and sub-species, including the lesser bilby and desert bandicoot.

[stui magpie]

^

And they do eat the small reptiles, they gorge on them. See the article I linked to a page or so back.

Good idea btw to use the esky and the CO2 to make a humane method of putting them down. They're difficult beggars to trap and shooting them really means spotlighting them.

Although, a bloke I knew when I was a kid used to bait rabbit traps with cat food, in his own back yard. He had a small shed full of tanned cat skins.

[roar]

I find dogs more bothersome personally. Actually, I should clarify to city dogs. And really, it's dog owners that are the real problem.

[Skids]

I find dogs more bothersome personally. Actually, I should clarify to city dogs. And really, it's dog owners that are the real problem.

Why?

We walk them on a lead (cats roam free), we pick up their poo and put in the bin (cats shit in; kids sand pits, your yard... anywhere), Dogs are licensed and kept in a secure yard or they're impounded (cats roam everywhere with Tom cats howling and fighting in the middle of the night), We license our dogs (nothing for cats).

Dogs are mans best friend, cats are scabs.

[K]

^ And dogs aid humans and routinely save human lives, so routinely that humanity takes them for granted and holds them to ridiculously high standards that cats are never held to.

[think positive]

[Pies4shaw]

Recreational cyclists need more definitive control than either of these other species.

[K]

^ How many birds do they kill?

[Pies4shaw]

wpt, give K a definitive answer, please.

[stui magpie]

Recreational cyclists need more definitive control than either of these other species.

Much easier to control cyclists.

1. They don't breed anywhere near as fast as cats. Apart from constantly sore privates, the combination of sweaty lycra and general attitude combine to make a very effective preventative contraceptive

2. They're far easier to kill

3. Unlike cats, which for some reason I'm yet to understand are likeable to a lot of people, the only people who like cyclists, are other cyclists

4. They're purely urban dwellers. You're not going to find many cyclists in Arnhem land chowing down on lizards, they much prefer their tumeric lattes in inner city cafes. Plus, having the attitude that you're entitled to ride on the road doesn't work very well on the Nullabor with road trains.

[Mugwump]

I think this conversation has reached a very satisfactory understanding, with the exception of one question : How do you fit the cyclist into the esky ?

[K]

^ Esky? I thought P4S wanted to give them to Skids's "old mate dirty", presuming he's survived the close encounter with TP's meat grinder.

[Pies4shaw]

I think this conversation has reached a very satisfactory understanding, with the exception of one question : How do you fit the cyclist into the esky ?

Quite forcefully, I expect.