The Hodgman Liberal Government is taking decisive action on feral cat concerns and will deliver Tasmania’s first Cat Management Plan by the year’s end.
Managing feral and stray cats is a community-wide problem and a complex issue that requires a range of approaches to manage the impacts on native wildlife, livestock and human health.
To date, legislation has been the focus but it is clear that this ignores the complexity of the issue.
The management of cats requires fostering responsible ownership, building awareness of the impacts cats can have and importantly tackling the problem of feral cats.
The new Cat Management Plan aims to achieve this through a coordinated, collaborative and effective approach to cat management.
We understand collaboration at all levels is essential to the success of this plan, which is why Biosecurity Tasmania will work with a new Cat Management Reference Group to develop the plan.
This reference group will involve key organisations with a direct interest in cat management and ownership, and will drive the development and implementation of the plan.
The reference group will look at all areas of cat management including factors contributing to stray and feral cat populations, impact on primary industries, environment and human health, reducing recruitment in to wild and stray populations and identifying specific strategies to address the stray and feral cat problem.
The work of the reference group will also inform us on the effectiveness of the current Cat Management Act and whether amendments to that Act are required.
I will be inviting the following organisations to join the Cat Management Reference Group:
The community will also have a chance to have its say during the development of the draft plan. The reference group will provide a draft Cat Management Plan for consideration by the end of this year.
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