Cats in Australia killed a billion animals in a year. How did this come about?

Australian cats can causeextinction of unique species of small animals. Every day, cats kill millions of birds per day, which is fraught with disaster, since many species live only on the Australian continent. And not only wild cats hunt, but also domestic. And to fight against killer cats, the government has already decided to take radical measures.

In the study of Biological Conservationit is reported that in 2018, Australian cats killed more than a billion other mammals. The victims were birds, rodents, marsupials and even snakes. At the same time, wild cats killed about 815 million individuals, other animals became victims of domestic cats. According to scientists, there are now almost 4 million domestic cats in Australia; It is difficult to estimate the number of wild cats, but researchers cite a figure of 5-6 million individuals.

Of the 357 species that cats hunt, 24belong to the endangered, and most are unique to the continent. Therefore, scientists do not exclude that a high degree of distribution of cats may later turn into an environmental catastrophe.

Read also on the topic - More than 15 thousand scientists have warned of the impending ecological catastrophe

How to deal with killer cats

Because of this, some state governments have alreadyoffer reward for scalp cats - 10 Australian dollars per head. In addition, in 2019, authorities plan to kill 2 million wild cats with poison baits.

Of course, such a decision was not warmly made.Australian conservation organizations. They propose to create special fenced areas free from cats and foxes, where other mammals can feel safe. To this end, in 2018, a fence was built in Australia against cats with a length of 44 kilometers.

How cats became an epidemic for Australia

Cats appeared in Australia at the end of the 18th century, andalready in the last century, they began to actively hunt small animals and birds. Nevertheless, the government has long turned a blind eye to this problem. And if nothing is done, by 2025 it may be too late.

By the way, recently opened a new type of cats with developed muscles and nocturnal lifestyle.

Nobody plans to touch domestic cats,because they, as scientists note, are more social and do not actively hunt other species. And most cat owners will probably agree with that. And you? Tell us in our chat in Telegram.