Cats in Australia
Companion and Killer
By: John CZ Woinarski, Sarah M Legge, Chris R Dickman
A discussion of the impact of cats, their relationship with people, and their management.
Across the world, cats are loved as pets or are kept or tolerated for their role in controlling some animal pests. But cats, both pets and feral, also kill many native animals and this toll can be enormous. Cats have been remarkably successful in Australia, spreading pervasively across the continent and many islands, occurring in all environments, and proving to be adept and adaptable hunters. A large proportion of Australia’s distinctive fauna is threatened and recent research highlights the significant role that cats play in the decline and extinction of native species. + Full description
Cats in Australia brings this research together, documenting the extent to which cats have subverted, and are continuing to subvert, Australia’s biodiversity. But the book does much more than spotlight the impacts of cats on Australian nature. It describes the origins of cats and their global spread, their long-standing and varying relationship with people, their global impacts and their ecology. It also seeks to describe the challenge of managing cats, and the options available to constrain their impacts.
Certificate of Commendation, The Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2020 Whitley Awards: Zoological Review
- Short descriptionReviews
"Cats in Australia...show[s] the value of a solid scientific underpinning for resolving societal disputes."
Jonathan B. Losos, Science Magazine Vol 365, Issue 6451, July 2019
"The authors of this book should be commended for their thoughtful and thorough approach to this complex topic."
Tim Low, Wildlife Australia, Summer 2019
"Reasoned and dispassionate coverage of the complex social and political dimensions of Cat management in Australia."
Peter Menkhorst, The Victorian Naturalist 137(1), February 2020
"Cats in Australia, Companion and Killer is a one-stop shop for those willing to understand better the history, scale and politics of this problem, as well as the innovative solutions that science is producing to address it."
Harry Moore, Austral Ecology 45(1), February 2020
"Overall, the book is a fascinating and important read. The authors provide extensive scientific detail but punctuate this with interesting quotes, historical accounts, anecdotes, photos and illustrations, making the book accessible to a wide audience. A must-read for anyone working in or interested in wildlife conservation!"
Kelly Miller, Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 27(1), 2020
"Cats in Australia contains so much information on cats and their impact on Australia’s indigenous fauna that it should be essential reading for conservationists, wildlife managers, and cat lovers, especially those on that continent."
Ron Moorhouse, Conservation Biology 35(3), May 2021
Details
Paperback | June 2019 | $ 59.99ISBN: 9781486308439 | 344 pages | 245 x 170 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Colour photographs, Illustrations
ePDF | June 2019
ISBN: 9781486308446
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
ePUB | June 2019
ISBN: 9781486308453
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
Features
- While showing respect to the remarkable character of the cat, this book provides the first comprehensive documentation of their ongoing severe impacts on Australia’s biodiversity. They demonstrate that these impacts are far more substantial than those reported for cats on any other continent.
- Detailed account of the cat’s origins and natural history, global spread and impacts on the world’s biodiversity, impacts on the economy and human health, and of the rapidly evolving legal, policy and management challenges and responses to the threat posed by cats to biodiversity.
- Summarises recent academic research on the ecology, impacts and management of cats in a readable manner.
- Helps community members including councils and governments, landholders, conservationists and animal welfare advocates to establish more effective management responses to cats.
Contents
PrefaceAcknowledgements
Defining cats
1: Domestic cat: origins
2: The natural history of cats
3: Cats and other predators
4: The cat’s world: global distribution and impacts on biodiversity
5: Cats in Australia: history, spread, distribution and population size
6: Impacts of feral cats on Australian wildlife
7: Pet cats in Australia and their impact on wildlife
8: Economic and health impacts
9: Management of cats in Australia
10: Cat ethics
11: The ill-governed cat: law and policy
12: Cats on the mind: community attitudes
13: Conclusions and outlook
References
Index
Authors
John Woinarski, Sarah Legge and Chris Dickman have been engaged for many decades in research, management and policy relating to biodiversity across Australia, with an enduring commitment to the conservation of Australia’s fauna. All three authors are affiliated with the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the National Environmental Science Program. This book is motivated by the authors’ interest in the factors causing decline in Australia’s remarkable fauna, their recognition of the need to communicate this conservation challenge to our community and to promote solutions to the loss of biodiversity.
John Woinarski is with Charles Darwin University, with expertise in the ecology and conservation of birds and mammals in northern Australia. His previous books include The Action Plan for Australian Mammals 2012 and A Bat’s End: The Christmas Island Pipistrelle and Extinction in Australia.
Sarah Legge is with the Australian National University and University of Queensland and is one of Australia’s leading conservation ecologists and managers. Her previous books include Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities.
Chris Dickman is at University of Sydney and is an expert in the ecology of Australian mammals. His previous books include the Whitley Medal-winning A Fragile Balance: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Marsupials and Secret Lives of Carnivorous Marsupials.
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