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| Australia Defends Plan to Kill Millions of Feral Cats | Australia Defends Plan to Kill Millions of Feral Cats |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| HONG KONG — Australian officials have responded to criticism from animal rights activists and celebrities, including the former actress Brigitte Bardot and the singer Morrissey, that a government plan to protect threatened species by killing millions of feral cats is unnecessarily cruel. | |
| Gregory Andrews, Australia’s threatened species commissioner, has written open letters to Ms. Bardot and Morrissey saying that feral cats prey on more than 100 of the country’s threatened species and that they were a “major contributor” to the extinction of at least 27 mammal species in the country over the past 200 years. | Gregory Andrews, Australia’s threatened species commissioner, has written open letters to Ms. Bardot and Morrissey saying that feral cats prey on more than 100 of the country’s threatened species and that they were a “major contributor” to the extinction of at least 27 mammal species in the country over the past 200 years. |
| He called some of the extinct species, such as the lesser bilby, desert bandicoot, crescent nailtail wallaby and big-eared hopping mouse, “delightful creatures, rich in importance in Australian indigenous culture, and formerly playing important roles in the ecology of our country. We don’t want to lose any more species like these.” | |
| The Australian Department of the Environment says that feral cats are the biggest threat to the country’s mammals, ahead of foxes and habitat loss. The government plan would use poison and traps to kill the cats. | The Australian Department of the Environment says that feral cats are the biggest threat to the country’s mammals, ahead of foxes and habitat loss. The government plan would use poison and traps to kill the cats. |
| In announcing the plan in July, Greg Hunt, the environment minister, said that he wanted two million feral cats culled by 2020. Australia has an estimated 20 million feral cats, which are an invasive species brought by European settlers. Calls to exterminate the cats have been floated before, including one in the 1990s that called for killing all feral cats by 2020. | |
| When the current plan was announced, Ms. Bardot, 81, the French actress well known for her work in animal rights campaigns, wrote that the plan was “a scandal, a shame.” | When the current plan was announced, Ms. Bardot, 81, the French actress well known for her work in animal rights campaigns, wrote that the plan was “a scandal, a shame.” |
| “This animal genocide is inhuman and ridiculous,” she said, arguing that Australia should neuter feral cats rather than kill them. | “This animal genocide is inhuman and ridiculous,” she said, arguing that Australia should neuter feral cats rather than kill them. |
| Morrissey, an English pop star, called the Australian government “a committee of sheep farmers who have zero concerns about animal welfare or animal respect.” Mr. Andrews’s response did not say why the Australian authorities were choosing to kill the cats over neutering them. He did say the government’s plan is supported by “the overwhelming majority of key environmental nongovernment organizations,” including the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy. | |