A collaboration between the WA government, Bush Heritage Australia and local farmers will target cats, foxes and rabbits in a 40,000 hectare site, including the Stirling Range in WA. The aim of the control program is to restore native animals to their traditional habitat.
Cats and foxes are a threat to many small native animals, while rabbits help sustain the predators, compete with native grazing animals and degrade the habitat of native wildlife.
The five year program will use Eradicat, a 1080-based bait specifically for cats, but which foxes will also take. For rabbits it will use baits and strategic releases of calicivirus. The integrated, collaborative program is an example of the type of effort required for the sustainable management of Australian landscapes.
For more information, see a summary by Bush Heritage Australia, or a full article by Emma Young in WAtoday.
Honey possums are preyed upon by cats and foxes. Image Will Marwick.