# RESEARCH ARTICLE Previous Next Online Early How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?



## azzmilan (Jun 17, 2018)

Found this study that came out the last few days.

For those that can't access it, this is the results...
_Wildlife Research_ - https://doi.org/10.1071/WR17160

"Feral cats in Australia’s natural environments kill 466 million reptiles yr–1 (95% CI; 271–1006 million). The tally varies substantially among years, depending on changes in the cat population driven by rainfall in inland Australia. The number of reptiles killed by cats is highest in arid regions. On average, feral cats kill 61 reptiles km–2 year–1, and an individual feral cat kills 225 reptiles year–1. The take of reptiles per cat is higher than reported for other continents. Reptiles occur at a higher incidence in cat diet than in the diet of Australia’s other main introduced predator, the European red fox (_Vulpes vulpes_). Based on a smaller sample size, we estimate 130 million reptiles year–1 are killed by feral cats in highly modified landscapes, and 53 million reptiles year–1 by pet cats, summing to 649 million reptiles year–1 killed by all cats. Predation by cats is reported for 258 Australian reptile species (about one-quarter of described species), including 11 threatened species."


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jun 17, 2018)

Cats take more reptilian and mammillian prey than foxes simply because cats are strictly carnivorous. Foxes, wild dogs and dingoes for example are omnivores. Cats hands down are the #1 problem for our wildlife on this continent.


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## longirostris (Jun 20, 2018)

azzmilan said:


> Found this study that came out the last few days.
> 
> For those that can't access it, this is the results...
> _Wildlife Research_ - https://doi.org/10.1071/WR17160
> ...



Thank you so much for finding this and posting it on this forum. I am totally blown away that other than Flavymies purvisi commenting on it nobody else has. This is exactly what I have been talking about for years and arguing the point about when I hear everybody bemoaning the impact of taking wildlife from the wild for private keepers captive collections whether legally or illegally. It is pretty clear where the emphasis on management of wildlife populations needs to be. The eradication of Australia's feral cat problem should be the number one priority of every wildlife organisation, welfare group, environmentalist and government in Australia. Whatever funds are available for wildlife management should be almost entirely directed at this problem

This is not a study conducted by a biased interest group or a bunch of unqualified ratbags trying to make a name for themselves. They are saying an estimated 466 million reptiles are killed each year by feral cats. Puts the take from the wild debate into perspective doesn't it. Whats really frightening and it would be great to get the same study done on is, how many millions more are killed by land clearing, oh and road kill oh, and hazard reduction burns (if not directly then indirectly as a result of destruction by burning of habitat and killing of prey invertebrates etc). The list of causes of casualties among our reptiles could go on and list another 10 plus causes of reptile deaths and injuries that would all number significantly more than taking from the wild for private collections and keepers. How about this one, how many snakes are killed each year by people whacking them over the head with a shovel just because they are a snake. Most people doing the killing don't even know what they are killing, if its a python or an elapid, doesn't matter just bloody kill it. Yet if I went to its rescue and decided to keep it I am breaking several wildlife regulations and likely to be castigated and ostracized even by members of this forum who tell me I should put it back. But why, if I do that the moron with the shovel is just going to kill it. Why can't people see the stupidity in all of this. Ahhh now I remember, its called the animal welfare lobby. That's right they would rather the snake dead then be bought into captivity. Talk about a bunch of absolute loons.

I'm sorry I digressed I got a bit animated there out of sheer frustration. Back to the list of causes for decimated wildlife populations.

How about accidental death and injury through farming and grazing activities, must be in the hundreds of thousands if not millions again. What about crop spraying to kill bugs and other pests. How many small reptiles are killed directly and later indirectly through this activity. Same thing, I am guessing hundreds of thousands if not millions here as well. How about the natural born killers who have to kill every thing that moves. There is a shipload of them out there. I remember launching our boat in one of the local saltwater lakes where I live only a couple of years ago. An octopus the size of a large dinner plate swam right past my feet and feet of the young 16 year old son of some people we were about to go boating with for the day. Having never seen an octopus that big before the first thing the kid did was run off and grab a pointy stick. As he came running back I realized he was going to kill it at which point I stopped him and asked him if he was planning on eating it. When he said no I then asked him why did he want to kill it. He had no idea. I told him to leave the octopus alone and watched it swim slowly off. How many people are there out there whose first instinct is to kill, particularly reptiles and other creepy crawlies. I would suggest many hundreds of thousands meet their end at the hands of people like this as well.

I haven't even talked about natural processes such as predation, diseases, inclement weather such as floods or long periods of drought, territorial competition and so on. No doubt there are many more that people can think of that I haven't.

Now where in the overall scheme of this carnage do we think collecting or take from the wild impacts sit, well I am going to go out on a limb and say right at the very bottom of the list and that as a percentage of the total number of negative impacts on wild reptile populations, collecting would be so small that it would be decimal places of one percent and I would go even further to say several decimal places of one percent before you see a digit other than a zero.

I am tired of sounding like a broken record stuck in a groove but this focus on take from the wild activities whether legal or illegal as a significant contributor to wild reptile populations decimation particularly at QLD DES is just ridiculous when seen in the above context. If wildlife authorities are genuinely concerned about sustaining wild populations of wildlife then introduce a management system that actually regulates a legitimate collect from the wild process. This will ensure that there is no need for poaching, black market selling, illegal laundering and underground off license or unregulated keeping.

As I said earlier azzmilan, thanks so much for this post. I am actually going to forward this on to QLD DES as well NSW NPWS but more importantly to the ministers in charge in both states I think they need to see this. I might see if we can get some media coverage of it as well. This story needs to be told.

Mark Hawker


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## Pauls_Pythons (Jun 20, 2018)

longirostris said:


> I am totally blown away that other than Flavymies purvisi commenting on it nobody else has.



Maybe if you were more active on the forum you would see the many threads that have been dedicated or ended up in a discussion on this subject and almost always end in threads being closed or comments removed as it becomes so heated.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jun 21, 2018)

longirostris said:


> Thank you so much for finding this and posting it on this forum. I am totally blown away that other than Flavymies purvisi commenting on it nobody else has. This is exactly what I have been talking about for years and arguing the point about when I hear everybody bemoaning the impact of taking wildlife from the wild for private keepers captive collections whether legally or illegally. It is pretty clear where the emphasis on management of wildlife populations needs to be. The eradication of Australia's feral cat problem should be the number one priority of every wildlife organisation, welfare group, environmentalist and government in Australia. Whatever funds are available for wildlife management should be almost entirely directed at this problem
> 
> This is not a study conducted by a biased interest group or a bunch of unqualified ratbags trying to make a name for themselves. They are saying an estimated 466 million reptiles killed each year by feral cats. Puts the take from the wild debate into perspective doesn't it. Whats really frightening and it would be great to get the same study done on is, how many millions more are killed by land clearing, oh and road kill oh, and hazard reduction burns (if not directly then indirectly as a result of destruction by burning of habitat and killing of prey invertebrates etc). The list of causes of casualties among our reptiles could go on and list another 10 plus causes of reptile deaths and injuries that would all number significantly more than taking from the wild for private collections and keepers. How about this one, how many snakes are killed each year by people whacking them over the head with a shovel just because they are a snake. Most people doing the killing don't even know what they are killing, if its a python or an elapid, doesn't matter just bloody kill it. Yet if I went to its rescue and decided to keep it I am breaking several wildlife regulations and likely to be castigated and ostracized even by members of this forum who tell me I should put it back. But why, if I do that the moron with the shovel is just going to kill it. Why can't people see the stupidity in all of this. Ahhh now I remember, its called the animal welfare lobby. That's right they would rather the snake dead then be bought into captivity. Talk about a bunch of absolute loons.
> 
> ...


Really well written Mark.


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## longirostris (Jun 21, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> Maybe if you were more active on the forum you would see the many threads that have been dedicated or ended up in a discussion on this subject and almost always end in threads being closed or comments removed as it becomes so heated.



Maybe then, its a good thing I am not more active or more to the point have much to say on this forum. Just so you know though, I have actually looked at and followed this forum virtually everyday for the last 11 years. I don't see and haven't seen anything like the commentary you are talking about on this subject. 200 posts in 11 years is not very active but when I do post, hopefully I make a meaningful contribution. I like to think so.

Mark Hawker


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## Pauls_Pythons (Jun 21, 2018)

@longirostris 
Mark, your contribution was certainly meaningful and well constructed.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jun 23, 2018)

Interactive Digital Storytelling team 
By Colin Gourlay
22 June, 2018.



*Cats are a serious threat to native Australian lizard species.*


Feral cats pose a significant threat to Australia's biodiversity, killing more than 1 million birds per day, according to recent estimates.

But birds are only their second favourite snack, with new research estimating Australian cats — both feral and domestic — are eating a total of 1.8 million native Australian reptiles every day.

Researchers collated the results of more than 80 cat dietary studies to answer the question: "How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia?"

Spare a thought for the scientists — the true heroes of this story — who collected a whole lot of cat poop to better understand felines' impact on native species.


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