While cats provide much-needed companionship, they are also genetically programmed killers. Cats have devastating effects on biodiversity, which is vital for food security. .. Estimates are that domestic cats kill 61 million birds a year and those becoming feral kill more than 300 million birds plus countless small mammals and reptiles. By contrast the recent Australian bushfires killed 180 million birds.
The global pandemic has engulfed the media, which consistently features health care workers struggling heroically in intensive care units to save stricken lives, sometimes at the expense of their own.
Intensive care units provide patients with mechanical support to breathe oxygen and maintain their nutrition, water needs and temperature control.
The same life support systems are provided to humanity by a stable climate, clean air, adequate water and the biodiversity of productive land. All are increasingly harmed by our failure to act on solid scientific evidence that we are harming them irrevocably.
These life support systems provide the basis for the sustainability of this continent for our health and survival.
A report card for each of these environmental life support systems would focus most attention on biodiversity because its importance is poorly understood and little is being done to maintain it. On most measureable environmental criteria, Australia’s environment is fast deteriorating.
A recent evaluation by Corey Bradshaw, Paul Ehrlich and colleagues of the world’s environment states “that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its life forms —including humanity — is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts”. The Bradshaw article is summarised in The Conversation.
Admittedly this view of the importance of biodiversity loss might seem to contradict the evidence that climate change is the prime process destined to overwhelm us this century. However, there is some hope that global heating can be controlled by many countries committing to 2050 zero emission targets even though Australia is defaulting.
Furthermore the public wants action on climate change.
By contrast, there is insufficient public or government understanding of the dire consequences of the continuing loss of plant, animal and reptile species from the direct damaging actions of industry, governments, and individuals.
Despite this, in 2020 the Morrison government refused to sign a global pledge endorsed by 64 countries committing them to reverse biodiversity loss because it was inconsistent with Australia’s policies presumably on resource development. And this year Australia was not one of 50 countries committed to protecting 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030.
In stressing biodiversity loss, the Bradshaw paper adds a vital issue, “Political Impotence”, to the confluence of dangers of climate change, population, economic growth and consumption besetting humanity.
“If most of the world’s population truly understood and appreciated the magnitude of the crises we summarize here, and the inevitability of worsening conditions, one could logically expect positive changes in politics and policies to match the gravity of the existential threats. But the opposite is unfolding.”
This impotence applies most to biodiversity, for the use of finite environmental resources in a warming climate will diminish biodiversity and therefore food security.
Our Government fails to understand that our life support system of food production depends on biodiversity provided by countless species of the soil’s worms, fungi and bacteria to maintain its ecological structure and by the pollinators, birds and animals which control pests and enhance productivity.
It also fails to understand that degradation of ecosystems is related to the increasing number of Zoonoses such as Ebola, Nipah and Zika viruses.
Government understanding and action are limited to the plight of iconic species — and funds to preserve some of their habitats.
Each day there are examples of the Australian government’s indifference to this issue driven by the perceived need for growth and development of resources as demonstrated by the hijack of vital environmental reforms in the revised EPBC Act. In the words of Environment Minister Sussan Ley “it will allow projects to be fast-tracked”.
Therefore, it was perhaps surprising that last year the Minister announced a Parliamentary Inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia. It will report later this year. The task of stopping the devastating effect of cats on biodiversity seems insurmountable but the inquiry may serve the purpose of showing government interest in the topic.
It could also encourage education on the role of biodiversity and ecological services because the successful control of cats will require extensive explanation to persuade cat owners and the public of the damage cats cause.
In Australia nearly 4 million households have cats. Estimates are that domestic cats kill 61 million birds a year and those becoming feral kill more than 300 million birds plus countless small mammals and reptiles. By contrast the recent Australian bushfires killed 180 million birds.
Presently there are no effective means of culling the feral cats roaming the vast Australian landscape. The preservation of native species requires secure fencing for key areas, which commenced in 2015 with the ‘Creating Safe Havens’ program for native animals and plants. Clearly its long-term relevance depends upon the development of methods to cull cats and other feral species. The cat is too cunning for traps and poisons and significant funding is needed to produce and release cats genetically engineered for sterility, an important test of government commitment.
Meanwhile national action is desperately needed to curtail the clearance of land and habitat, which provides cover for the hunted wildlife.
Domestic cats present very different problems. They destroy the wildlife of suburban and regional towns and their surrounds at a time when we are coming to recognise the importance of greening our environment and valuing its native species.
Reform will require skills not yet displayed by most governments for we might envisage thousands of incensed and devoted cat owners protesting by storming our “Capitol” hill in Canberra. In terms of attitudes and regulation little has changed since 1994.
The skills required are the sympathetic recognition of the companionship that cats provide many people particularly the lonely, while educating that every cat is a genetically programmed killer outside its home.
The omens are poor. For example, currently the ACT government states: “Cat policy in the ACT is aimed at ensuring the rights of domestic cats and their owners. It also provides the means by which cats are responsibly owned and managed so that they do not cause a nuisance or danger to the wider community and environment.”
This raises the question as to whether domestic cats have more rights than the thousands of birds and animals they kill, or ultimately the human right to health and survival, which is the ultimate consideration in our fast-deteriorating national environment.
Educational measures and funding must focus on cat confinement. The cat door needs to access a caged exercise and play area, with financial assistance for implementation by needy owners.
Habitat clearance in Australia is greater than in other developed countries and continues unabated. Habitat preservation will require controlling the open cat door via the EPBC Act, which currently allows the biggest, most powerful and skilled predators from the fossil fuel, logging and corporate farming industries to operate with scant regulation.
David Shearman is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Adelaide University and previously held senior academic positions at Edinburgh University, where he qualified in Medicine and Biological Science, and at Yale University. He is author of many books on climate change and related issues. He has served on the IPCC, has been President of the Conservation Council of South Australia. With the late Professor Tony McMichael he founded Doctors for the Environment Australia in 2001. He is author and co-author of several hundred scientific and medical papers.
Comments
7 responses to “The continuing loss of plant, animal and reptile species has dire consequences”
Thank you, John, for these important points.
I cannot venture to suggest we are at the tipping point but the evidence suggests that we will be without drastic action. One of the purposes of my article was to point out that however bad the climate change crisis, humanity is commencing mitigation, whereas in case of biodiversity and ecological services we have not reached the stage of any significant government understanding or action. For climate change the economic dimension is belatedly beginning to be understood by government and industry. For biodiversity, government still regards it as an issue for “lefties and greenies” and one which impairs economic growth. I have yet to hear or meet a Coalition member with any understanding; Labor is slightly more informed but is saddled with obligations to some Unions. So how do we approach this? All organisations, particularly science , medical, and informed agricultural ones must greatly increase their endeavors.
You, I and others who understand the issues must educate the public and in particular local government about needed action, cats being just one of many problems which the public can assist with. There needs to be more understanding of the dying environment which you depict so well.
Thanks for your encouragement David. I find it difficult to get the message out as there are so few environmental journalists in the Australian media – even the ABC does not have a dedicated environment unit.
The other critical issues David relate to habitat modification. Having spent the best part of 50 years travelling around Australia (mostly WA and NT) the changes to habitat are mind boggling. Damming rivers and creeks, re-routing rivers and streams, removal of middle-level vegetation (critical to survival of birds, insects and reptiles mainly through fires), the destruction of fire-sensitive vegetation through too frequent burning (for example the annual exercise of setting fire to the Northern Monsoom Belt every year, directly affecting 25% of the land area, the introduction and natural spread of exotic and native species over hundreds of millions of hectares accross the country, wind and water induced erosion in modified habitats, desertification through over-stocking, excessive land clearing, vegetation collapse through climate change (reduced rainfall/changes in seasonality of rainfall, higher soil temperatures, drying out of litter),uncontrolled clearing of farm land leading to salt invasion, massive and probably irriversible pollution of all the drowned river systems throughout the country, the spread of fungi, bacterial and viral plant and animal diseases as a result of ineffective, inept quarantine services.
I’m afraid we have passed the tipping point.
Recently my daughter had a semi wild cat take up residence under her inner city house. All attempts to find a government agency to collect and dispose of this potential fauna killer were unsuccessful. Government seems to have left the field to cat-lover organisations. Eventually someone was found who would take the cat away and find it a home.
But no wonder many save time by just dumping the unwanted in the bush where it can become properly feral.
All cats can live happily and healthily indoors. There is absolutely no need for them to go outside, ever!
This continued emphasis on cats only takes away from the real villain and that is humans and their hunger for progress while at the controls of a different sort of cat, that of a Caterpillar bulldozer systematically annihilating habitat, thinning of under growth and creating a environment which is extremely hostile for those who live in it.
From personal experience on the land, farmers intervening in the natural order of things such as baiting of another ‘feral pests” apex predators foxes and wild dogs/dingoes to protect precious livestock has only seen the further spread of rabbits and cats which quickly move to inhabit pockets of land set aside for other natives.
European farming methods do not work here, throwing hundreds of millions of dollars towards the management of cats seems fruitless unless you profit from it, throwing hundreds of millions of dollars towards re-vegetation and land management regulation would surely be more beneficial.
What you say about land clearing is fair enough, Matt, but humans, individually and collectively, are able to walk and chew gum at the same time (well, mostly).