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Savannah Cats And Hybrids

In 2008 there was a strong public outcry against the proposal by a cat breeder to import savannah cats – a hybrid of domestic cats and African servals (Felis catus X Leptailurus serval).
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In 2008 there was a strong public outcry against the proposal by a cat breeder to import savannah cats – a hybrid of domestic cats and African servals (Felis catus X Leptailurus serval).

After an assessment, then federal environment minister Peter Garrett refused the application by changing the definition of domestic cat‘ to specificaly exclude serval hybrids. This was a good decision that will prevent Australia’s feral cat population exerting even stronger predatory pressure on wildlife.

However, there are many other imports of hybrids and variants of existing pests and weeds that could worsen Australia’s environmental problems, and these are not attracting regulatory attention. Here are some examples.

Boer goats and Kalahari goats have been imported from South Africa to produce more drought-hardy goat breeds for Australia. Males are bred with female feral goats, creating what is effectively a superior feral goat – if they escape into the wild.

Water buffalo are being imported from Asia to breed with water buffalo of wild origin (previously introduced). The buffalo farms are in regions where cyclone damage to fences could facilitate their escape into the wild, which, given time, they almost certainly will.

New dog hybrids, such as coyote and wolf crosses (bred as pets in the US), may become a problem if imported, leading to increased predation of native animals and livestock.

Bengal cats, like savannah cats, could worsen the feral cat problem. They are hybrids between domestic cats and leopard cats, which are native to the rainforests of South East Asia. Bengal cats are fonder of water, and fonder of climbing trees, than feral domestic cats. They are also more likely to hunt inside rainforest, a habitat avoided by Australia‘s feral cats. There are at least half-a-dozen wildcat-domestic hybrids available.

The pet trade is behind many of the hybridisations, as breeders seek to produce ever more exotic and wild-looking pets. Currently, under the federal environment laws, hybrids between permitted imports such as domestic cats and other animals such as wild cat species, can be imported if they are five generations away from the original wild animal. This is a loophole that should be closed.

There are also major invasive risks associated with importing plant hybrids.

More info

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]