Wildlife carers in Western Australia’s southwest say thousands of native animals will die waiting for the state government to change legislation around pet cats. Local governments throughout the state have been pushing for the right to reign in the pets but carers say critically endangered species may not have time to wait for local laws to change.
00:00Healing Hands nursing this western ringtail possum joey back to health.
00:07This joey likely orphaned and in desperate need of medical help
00:11after an encounter with a cat out on the prowl beyond its backyard.
00:15Because they play with them and maudlin and it's really not very nice at all.
00:19They will remove a lot, they scratch and bite.
00:22It's really quite awful some of what we see.
00:25Carers say many more sadly go unaccounted for.
00:28The majority don't make it to either us or a veterinarian to be treated.
00:35Councils have tried over the years to rein in pet cats
00:38by changing local laws in an effort to keep native animals safe.
00:42But it's been to no avail.
00:44Until the state government changes the cat act
00:46and we interpret it the way we need to interpret it
00:48we can't get that defective cat control we're looking for.
00:51More than 20 local councils across the state are calling for cat owners
00:55to be fined if their cat is found off property.
00:58In the meantime, local environmental management groups are encouraging cat owners
01:03to take matters into their own hands.
01:05One of the areas that we look to be able to work with people
01:08who really want to try and do the right thing
01:10is by helping them understand that they can help by putting in catio enclosures.
01:16Research out of Biodiversity Council Australia found roaming cats kill 323 million animals a year nationwide
01:23but new numbers show stricter cat laws introduced in other states are working.
01:29Local councils are determined to bring those cat laws to WA to keep local wildlife safe.
01:35We'll keep the pressure on because we want a good resolution here.
01:38But for WA and its endangered fauna, it's a waiting game.
01:42We'll keep the pressure on the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side of the right side
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