Pest control experts in Australia say it has been difficult to eradicate feral cats with traditional poisons.
Scientists in Australia plan to use a cat’s notorious curiosity to lure some of the country’s millions of feral felines into traps in an effort to protect native species.
Steven Lapidge of the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Center says the trap is basically “a tunnel that emits a phonic of a sound and bright features that attract cats to it.”
He said once inside, the cats have no option but to walk through a tunnel, which houses a sensor that detects the shape of the animal.
“If it’s a cat, then it will deliver a short spray onto its belly of a toxic substance that puts them to sleep,” Lapidge says.
The feral cats are descendants of escaped pets. They kill native birds, mammals, reptiles and insects, according to the Australian government.
Recent studies have shown that feral cats are killing a native cat species known as quolls.
Photo: Government of Australia