Historically, government environmental intervention in Australia has resulted in unintended consequences. Their efforts to eradicate rabbits is a classic example:

Rabbits were originally brought to Australia in 1859 for “sport”. Since rabbits breed rapidly and had no natural predators on the continent, it wasn’t long before they spread across the region. They are now considered Australia’s most destructive of the “invasives” and are blamed for the extinction of one-eighth of all mammalian species.

Government agencies have tried a number of methods to reduce their numbers, including: “destroying warrens through ripping, ploughing; blasting and fumigating; poison baiting; shooting and hunting with dogs and ferrets; biological control; rabbit proof fencing and releasing predators such as cats and foxes.” (24)

In 1991, a calicivirus, designed to kill rabbits “escaped” from Wardang Island while being tested by researchers. The virus “spread throughout North Africa, Europe and as far North as Sweden, leaving a trail of dead rabbits… Since then varieties of calicivirus have been found in humans and other animals.” (25) Rabbit Viral Hemorrhagic Disease (VHD) is highly contagious and causes massive internal hemorrhaging and liver impairment. VHD was first seen in China in 1984, and has since spread to Mexico, Continental Europe, Israel, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. There have been four confirmed outbreaks of VHD in the U.S. since 2001.

Despite repeated failures in eliminating a variety of non-native species, Australian environmentalists and government scientists are, nevertheless determined to target feral cats.

In 1999, the development of a felid-specific toxin was identified as a “priority” for feral cat control. FTC2 was eventually produced by the Victorian Institute for Animal Science and certified a “humane toxin” for killing cats.

In July 2006, the government began allocating additional millions of dollars to fund their updated extermination plan. In a media release titled “Feral Cat Crackdown” the Australian Department of Environment and Conservation issued this statement:

“More than $9 million will be spent on feral predator research and baiting trials in Western Australia over the next four years as part of the Carpenter Government's crackdown on invasive species…

Environment Minister Mark McGowan said a significant portion of the funds would be directed towards feral cat control…‘More needs to be done to stop this deadly predator from decimating our wildlife’.” (26)

Postscript

In 2003, John Wamsley was awarded the Australian Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year prize.

Ironically, the only group Wamsley despised as much as environmentalists were government officials who he felt were responsible for the collapse of Earth Sanctuaries, Ltd.

In 2005 John Wamsley and his long-time partner and second wife Proo Geddes were removed from the company. Earth Sanctuaries Ltd. was reorganized under new management and more than 6,000 stockholders discovered their investment was largely lost.

Today, Wamsley is comfortably retired and spends his days tending his feral- free garden.

Ultimately, John Wamsley will be remembered not as a savior of native wildlife, but as the “man in the cat skin hat” who led the charge of the slaughter down under.

Prepared by The Feline Resistance! staff, October 10, 2006 with special research assistance provided by Gerard Payne of Queensland, Australia.

References

1 Lloyd Robert Borrett “Flat Cats” http://www.borrett.id.au/weirdmob/cats.htm

2 Prue Adams “Wamsley walks away from Earth Sanctuaries” Landline March 27, 2005

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2005/s1330004.htm

3 Tim Thwaites “Visionary or madman?” International Wildlife Jan-Feb 2001

4 Denis Faye “The cat is his hat” Outside Magazine August 1999

5 Tim Thwaites “Visionary or madman?” International Wildlife Jan-Feb 2001

6 Burkes Backyard “Warrawong Sanctuary” http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/1997/archiv e

7 Prue Adams “Wamsley walks away from Earth Sanctuaries” Landline March 27, 2005

8 Sarah Hartwell “The Great Australian Cat Dilemma (1993, revised 1994, 1997); “The Great Australian Cat Predicament” sequel (1999, 2003)

9 Sarah Hartwell “The Great Australian Cat Dilemma” (1993, revised 1994, 1997); “The Great Australian Cat Predicament” sequel (1999, 2003)

10 Frankie Seymour “The Great Feral Cat Con Job” The Abolitionist June 2006 (reprinted Animals Australia http://www.animalsaustralia.org)

11 Ian Abbott “Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia” Wildlife Research vol. 29, 2002 page 2 http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WR01011.htm

12 Community Biodiversity Network 7/09/01 ( http://www.users.bigpond.com/berrime/wildcats.htm)

13 ninemsn.com.au 7/12/01 ( http://www.users.bigpond.com/berrime/wildcats.htm)

14 John Andersen “Cat Fight Over Bounty” Townsville Bulletin July 6, 2004

15 Sarah Hartwell “The Great Australian Cat Dilemma” (1993, revised 1994, 1997); “The Great Australian Cat Predicament” sequel (1999, 2003)

16 John Raedler “Australian proposal would wipe out all wild cats from the continent” March 14, 1997 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9703/14/aussie.cats/

17 Sarah Hartwell “The Great Australian Cat Dilemma (1993, revised 1994, 1997); “The Great Australian Cat Predicament” sequel (1999, 2003)

18 REARK Research 1994, Perry 1999, Chaseling 2001, McGreevy et al. 2002

19 Baldock et al. 2003, Grayson et al. 2002, Grayson and Calver 2004, Lilith et al.

20 RSPCA Queensland http://www.rspcaqld.org.au/

21 Dr. Rosie Cooney “Going native, pet” Courier-Mail August 12, 2006

22 Frankie Seymour “The Great Feral Cat Con Job” The Abolitionist June 2006 (reprinted Animals Australia http://www.animalsaustralia.org)

23 http://cats.about.com/cs/advocacy/a/australianferal.htm - references and links to the Australian Government’s Department of Environment and Heritage“Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats” http://www.deh.gov.au/

24 “Controlling Wild Rabbits”, Australia & New Zealand Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Program 1997

25 Science News March 30, 1996 Vol. 149 No. 13 page 206

26 “Feral Cat Crackdown” July 8, 2006 media release Australian Department of Environment and Conservation: http://www.naturebase.net/news/media_rel.cgi