Seriously, the photo is not the issue. The question asked was regarding licensing and regulations of cat ownership versus keeping Australian native animals. Again, to reiterate my previous post: saying the photo is a fake is accusing a respected researcher of falsifying his results (for what? Shock value? That's a journalists job, not a scientists').
I'm unfamiliar with the Australian laws regarding the import of cats, but if it is not illegal to do so already, then it should be. Feral cats and foxes are currently the biggest threat to our native animals and have been attributed to much more damage to our ecosystem than the cane toad. It is a well documented fact and I honestly can't believe that the Australian government (and many individual state governments) has sat around and watched for so long when the results of several studies every year come to the same conclusion; Cats are destroying our country!.
Why then, knowing this, can Jo Blo go down the street and say to any number of organizations (including the RSPCA... which deserves its own completely different rant) and shops and say "I'll have that cat right now thank you". Surely there needs to be some responsibility from the stores and organizations, tougher laws and proper penalties for the people who disobey them. This should include not being able to buy another cat (this is the case for Australian natives, why not for pests). It should be mandatory to have all cats micro-chipped and spayed before sale and in a perfect world all stray cats found without microchips would be euthanized and all micro-chipped cats found off property to be re-homed and the registered owner to receive a fine and suspension (or cancellation) of license. If it's a legitimate escape, notify the right people immediately and if there are multiple escapes then license revoked until you fix the problem. It is illegal for you to allow your animals to roam around off your property and if people aren't careful, very soon I can see it being endorsed by the government that any cat not on a personal property is to be considered feral and legal to be killed on site.
Let's not forget here that whilst you might not see your "little harmless cutie" cats potential to cause serious devastation to the environment by letting it out every night, it's people who believe that they and their pets are the exception to the rule that have caused this problem so don't add to it. I'm sick of hearing naive comments such as "It's already done, so why change what we're doing now?" because the answer is simple and indisputable. We will inevitably do serious damage to the environment in the long run before we figure out how to live life without doing so (well, Aboriginal people never seemed to have too many sustainability issues) but the decision that is being placed before us as a whole is do we attempt to destroy the country and its ecosystem quickly, knowingly and disrespectfully. Or to we simply not make conscious decisions to do ignorant things like letting cats out of your property at night. It's also up to the government if they are serious about environmental sustainability, like they say they are (and not just holding votes), to legislate accordingly and make provisions for enforcement. cats aren't the only issue but they are definitely right up there and despite the inconvenience factor, which we all as keepers of Australian natives have to endure, a licensing and tracking system for cats is necessary to slow the impact on our ecosystem. A small licensing fee, if necessary, should go solely to funding the staff and needs of this governing body and to aid in removal of feral cats, possibly offer a reward for a tail? similarly to what was done for Tasmanian tigers, which saw to its extinction (there are other theories, but this was still a large contributory factor).
Anyway, after reading that long essay, I hope you all come to the realization that (despite having an American spell-check which frustrates me into adding "z" to a large proportion of "sing" suffixed words) I should be put in charge of the country for a year or so to make all the tough decisions and not worry about voters, so that when I'm replaced by the soft shells of human beings we call politicians, these important policies have already been put in place and that way we wont have to wait for politicians to do the right thing (It'll be a long wait)
she just doesn't get it.
