Big cats banned from Australia
Making a mistake isn’t necessarily stupid, but making the same mistake twice is. Thankfully Australia has learned from its past and banned the introduction of Savannah cats, a natural destroyer of the country’s unique wildlife.
The humble ‘moggy’ or domestic cat maybe a cute little family pet to those in the rest of the world but to Australia’s wildlife it is a born killing machine. And once the cats have adapted to life in the wild they are even more devastating.
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Simply put they are out of control across the country and just about eating everything in their path.
Feral cats have virtually no natural predators and have been wild in the country from at least 1850. Since that time they have helped to wipe out uncountable numbers of unique bird and animal species.
Feral cats also undermine just about every breeding program put into to place to try and build up Australia’s biodiversity when and where this is possible.
But as if this wasn’t enough some bright spark has had the idea of importing Savannah cats to Australia. This new breed of feline can grow up to 20 kilograms and is a cross between a normal cat and the wild African Serval.
The mind boggles to think of what devastation they could have inflicted on the Australia.
The good news is that earlier this month the importation of Savannah cats was banned by the federal government. But not before time. For some reason the Environment Minister felt he had to hold and inquiry on the subject? Surely he didn’t contemplate letting them in!
Thankfully the right decision has been made.
The other good news is that it seems I am not the only one who feels strongly about this. Of the 549 submissions received from the public 526 were against allowing the importation of these crazy cats.
But to think that someone tried… well, the mind boggles. It just shows that no matter how stupid we can be, there is always someone out there trying to go one better.
Photo credit: www.petsplayground.com.au
I am so grateful that Austrailia has chosen to do the right thing!!!
It’s comforting to see these steps taken. I am facinated by svannah cats and they are available here in Canada. Where I live, there are plenty of predators that like the odd domestic cat for dinner.
Fischers in particular seem to keep the rural cat population in check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)
Yes we have plenty of predators that like the odd domestic cats for dinner. They are called Koreans lol
It does not appear that proper credit was given for the photo. The image is © Kathrin Stucki. Please see: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/savannah-cat.html
Why does clicking on the tiny pic take me to the same tiny pic, but without the artcile? Is that really what you think people want when they click on the pic? Do you think they’re saying to themselves, “If only there were a way to view that tiny picture, but without the annoying article!”
With so many unwanted domestic cats, why would anyone want to create a new breed? Don’t we have enough problems with unresponsible pet buyers purchasing cute things and then abandoning them?
While I’m glad to hear that more cats will not be imported for sale (there are enough cats to be adopted in local shelters without introducing more), one of the things that I was surprised you didn’t mention :- trap-neuter-Return (TNR) programs for feral cats.
Here’s an interesting (if long) article about the Australian feral cat debate :-
http://www.messybeast.com/ausdilemma.htm
And there is a natural predator for cats - humans. we’re also the ones who are destroying wildlife faster than anything else out there.
Since the fake singer at open ceremony of 2008 Summer Olympic in Beijing, people started to talk about underage possible of Chinese girl gym team. Let’s be more reasonable. To train an individual as a beginner to a well-trained performer requires decay of time. How a well-trained team of performers can be underage?
Many North America children are over weight and they do look older compare with oriental people. Not only Chinese girls look younger than western but Japanese and Korea does.
Before people point their finger to others, please think logically. Do not let the evil to drive yourself!!
Since the fake fireworks admitted by Beijing authority, people started to devilish China a fake country. But let us be fairer to all things around. Yes, Chinese government is quite an evil one because they do not believe God. They are communist. However, people in China may not all evil. We need to give them some room to change, to grow up, to join the western world. Actually many Chinese started to become more Americanize. At least they are eating like us. McDonald is one of Chinese children favorites. Sooner later their children will look like ours – over weight, dressing like devil, act like drew, and behave like monsters.
try up to 20 lbs (9 kg), not 20 kg. The wild ancestor, the Serval may reach 20 kg, but the hybrid Savannah does not.