13-11-2017, 04:48 AM
1
$10 Bounty on Feral Cats
After dark in central Queensland paddocks, farmers with shotguns, rifles and homemade traps are on the lookout for an elusive feral pest.
Farmer Sib Torrisi shoots any feral cats he sees on his property in the Banana Shire, west of Rockhampton. When Mr Torrisi moved to their property almost two decades ago, the landscape was teeming with tiny native birds and sand goannas.
He said that changed as feral cats moved in.
"They climb up trees — they choke the life out of the animals by grabbing them by the throat," he said.
Last month, researchers found feral cats living in Australia's largely natural landscapes killed 272 million birds every year. That staggering statistic prompted Mr Torrisi's local council to put a bounty on feral cats — $10 for adults and $5 for every kitten — for the first time in its history.
No one has yet claimed the bounty because the $10 "isn't worth the petrol", feral dogs have up to $50 bounty
|
|
