translated from Spanish: Australia could kill two million wild cats

In Australia the growing number of feral and domestic cats has become a threat to several native species, both so different cities have already considered completely prohibit the holding of cats as a pet. Why the Government of the island continent raised for 2020 the proposal to kill two million cats that roam free through its territory, which would mean nearly one-third of the total population of cats that is estimated could reach 6 million. There are sectors in Australia that have taken this much further, as in Queensland, where there is a reward of US $7 for each coat of Wildcat, a measure that has been deeply criticized and labeled as “cruel” by various groups and advocacy organizations of the society. The key problem that motivates these decisions and discussions lies in the nature of cats, and cats, especially wild ones, are murderers. Today present in 99.8% of the country, would have arrived at a point in the 17TH, demonstrating how it has spread in no long time its presence, significantly altering the environmental balance. Indeed Gregory Andrews, National Commissioner of endangered species, attributed to wild cats have carried almost 20 species to extinction, making them the largest single threat to Australian native species, together with the a human. Another relevant point in this consideration is the estimate that 80% of the mammals and 45% of the birds encountered in Australia already are not in any other habitat wild in the Tierra.En that line is estimated that cats kill more than 1 million native birds and 1 , 7 million reptiles in Australia every day. Tim Doherti, a conservation ecologist sacrifice policy of the Deakin University in Australia, said that – although the problem that generated the cats – this radical measure would be based on little solid science. Speaking in relation to the Government’s program for sacrficirar cats, which began four years ago, he pointed out that “at that time, when the goal was established in 2015, we didn’t know really how many cats had in Australia”, he claimed, adding that some estimates of those times pointed out that they were 18 million, which says that it is far above the real. And he added that “there is really a reliable way to estimate it across an entire continent, but if you’re going to get a goal, and like to be significant, you will need to be able to measure your progress towards there”. Also criticize that cats are a big issue, the Government has prioritized them above other issues of greater political sensitivity, as the loss of Habitat caused by urban sprawl, logging, or mining. Doherti pointed out that “there is a possibility that the cats are used as a distraction to some extent” and that “We also need have an approach more holistic and identify all threats to biodiversity”.

Original source in Spanish