The use of poison baits to control feral cats and red foxes in arid South Australia II. Bait type, placement, lures and non-target uptake
K. E. Moseby A B C , J. L. Read A B , B. Galbraith B , N. Munro B , J. Newport B and B. M. Hill B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
B Arid Recovery, PO Box 147, Roxby Downs, SA 5725, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: katherine.moseby@adelaide.edu.au
Wildlife Research 38(4) 350-358 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR10236
Submitted: 21 December 2010 Accepted: 1 July 2011 Published: 6 September 2011
Abstract
Context: Poison baits are often used to control both foxes and feral cats but success varies considerably.
Aims: This study investigated the influence of bait type, placement and lures on bait uptake by the feral cat, red fox and non-target species to improve baiting success and reduce non-target uptake.
Methods: Six short field trials were implemented during autumn and winter over a five-year period in northern South Australia.
Key results: Results suggest that poison baiting with Eradicat or dried kangaroo meat baits was inefficient for feral cats due to both low rates of bait detection and poor ingestion rates for baits that were encountered. Cats consumed more baits on dunes than swales and uptake was higher under bushes than in open areas. The use of auditory or olfactory lures adjacent to baits did not increase ingestion rates. Foxes consumed more baits encountered than cats and exhibited no preference between Eradicat and kangaroo meat baits. Bait uptake by native non-target species averaged between 14 and 57% of baits during the six trials, accounting for up to 90% of total bait uptake. Corvid species were primarily responsible for non-target uptake. Threatened mammal species investigated and nibbled baits but rarely consumed them; however, corvids and some common rodent species ingested enough poison to potentially receive a lethal dose.
Conclusions: It is likely that several factors contributed to poor bait uptake by cats including the presence of alternative prey, a preference for live prey, an aversion to scavenging or eating unfamiliar foods and a stronger reliance on visual rather than olfactory cues for locating food.
Implications: Further trials for control of feral cats should concentrate on increasing ingestion rates without the requirement for hunger through either involuntary ingestion via grooming or development of a highly palatable bait.
Additional keywords: baiting, broadscale control, introduced, threatened species.
References
Algar, D., and Brazell, R. I. (2008). A bait-suspension device for the control of feral cats. Wildlife Research 35, 471–476.| A bait-suspension device for the control of feral cats.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Algar, D., and Burrows, N. D. (2004). Feral cat control research: Western Shield review – February 2003. Conservation Science Western Australia 5, 131–163.
Algar, D., and Sinagra, J. A. (1996). Methods of broadscale control of feral cats in Western Australia. Unpublished report to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Feral Pests Program Project No. 11. ANCA, Canberra.
Algar, D. A., Angus, G. J., Fuller, P. J., and Onus, M. L. (2002a). Operation Wanjarri: optimising feral cat baiting strategies in the arid zone. Report to Environment Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia.
Algar, D. A., Burbidge, A. A., and Angus, G. J. (2002b). Cat eradication on Hermite Island, Montebello Islands, Western Australia. In ‘Turning the Tide: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Eradication of Island Invasives’. (Eds C. R. Veitch and M. N. Clout.) pp. 14–18. (IUCN: SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group: Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.)
Algar, D., Angus, G. J., Williams, M. R., and Mellican, A. E. (2007). Influence of bait type, weather and prey abundance on bait uptake by feral cats (Felis catus) on Peron Peninsula, Western Australia. Conservation Science Western Australia 6, 109–149.
Bice, J. K., and Moseby, K. E. (2008). Diet of the re-introduced greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis; Peramelidae) and burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur; Potoroidae) in the Arid Recovery Reserve, northern South Australia. Australian Mammalogy 30, 1–12.
Burrows, N. D., Algar, D., Robinson, A. D., Sinagra, J., Ward, B., and Liddlelow, G. (2003). Controlling introduced predators in the Gibson Desert of Western Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 55, 691–713.
| Controlling introduced predators in the Gibson Desert of Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Catling, P. C. (1988). Similarities and contrasts in the diets of foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and cats, Felis catus, relative to fluctuating prey populations and drought. Australian Wildlife Research 15, 307–317.
| Similarities and contrasts in the diets of foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and cats, Felis catus, relative to fluctuating prey populations and drought.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Clapperton, B. K., Eason, C. T., Weston, R. J., Woolhouse, A. D., and Morgan, D. R. (1994). Development and testing of attractants for feral cats, Felis catus L. Wildlife Research 21, 389–399.
| Development and testing of attractants for feral cats, Felis catus L.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Commonwealth of Australia (2007). Background document for the threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats. Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Canberra.
Fleming, P. J. S. (1997). Uptake of baits by red foxes: implications for rabies contingency planning. Wildlife Research 24, 335–346.
| Uptake of baits by red foxes: implications for rabies contingency planning.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Friend, J. A., and Algar, D. (1995). Methods of broad-scale cat control and fox control at a numbat reintroduction site. Unpublished report to The Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.
King, D. R. (1990). ‘1080 and Australian Fauna.’ Western Australian Agricultural Protection Board, Perth.
MacDonald, D. W. (1977). On food preference in the red fox. Mammal Review 7, 7–23.
| On food preference in the red fox.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Marks, C. A., and Bloomfield, T. E. (1999). Bait uptake by foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in urban Melbourne: the potential of oral vaccination for rabies control. Wildlife Research 26, 777–787.
| Bait uptake by foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in urban Melbourne: the potential of oral vaccination for rabies control.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Martin, G. R., Twig, L. E., and Robinson, D. J. (1996). Comparison of the diet of feral cats from rural and pastoral Western Australia. Wildlife Research 23, 475–484.
| Comparison of the diet of feral cats from rural and pastoral Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McIlroy, J. C. (1984). The sensitivity of Australian animals to 1080 poison VII. Native and introduced birds. Australian Wildlife Research 11, 373–385.
| The sensitivity of Australian animals to 1080 poison VII. Native and introduced birds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McIlroy, J. C. (1985). The sensitivity of Australian animals to 1080 poison VIII. Amphibians and reptiles. Australian Wildlife Research 12, 113–118.
| The sensitivity of Australian animals to 1080 poison VIII. Amphibians and reptiles.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mitchell, N., Haeffner, R., Veer, V., Fulfold-Gardner, M., Clerveaux, W., Veitch, C. R., and Mitchell, G. (2002). Cat eradication and restoration of endangered iguanas (Cyclura carinata) on Long Cay, Caicos Bank, Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. In ‘Turning the Tide: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Eradication of Island Invasives’. (Eds C. R. Veitch and M. N. Clout.) pp. 206–212. (IUCN: SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group: Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.)
Moseby, K. E., and Hill, B. M. (2011). The use of poison baits to control feral cats and red foxes in arid South Australia 1. Aerial baiting trials. Wildlife Research 38, 338–349.
| The use of poison baits to control feral cats and red foxes in arid South Australia 1. Aerial baiting trials.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Moseby, K. E., Stott, J., and Crisp, H. (2009). Improving the effectiveness of poison baiting for the feral cat and European fox in northern South Australia: the influence of movement, habitat use and activity. Wildlife Research 36, 1–14.
Paltridge, R. (2002). The diets of cats, foxes and dingoes in relation to prey availability in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory. Wildlife Research 29, 389–403.
| The diets of cats, foxes and dingoes in relation to prey availability in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Parmenter, R. R., and MacMahon, J. A. (1983). Factors determining the abundance and distribution of rodents in a shrub–steppe ecosystems: the role of shrubs. Oecologia 59, 145–156.
| Factors determining the abundance and distribution of rodents in a shrub–steppe ecosystems: the role of shrubs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Read, J. L. (2010). Can fastidiousness kill the cat? The potential for target-specific poisoning of feral cats through oral grooming. Ecological Management & Restoration 11, 230–233.
| Can fastidiousness kill the cat? The potential for target-specific poisoning of feral cats through oral grooming.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Read, J. L., and Bowen, Z. (2001). Population dynamics, diet and aspects of the biology of feral cats and foxes in arid South Australia. Wildlife Research 28, 195–203.
| Population dynamics, diet and aspects of the biology of feral cats and foxes in arid South Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Read, J. L., Ebdon, F. R., and Donohoe, P. (2000). The terrestrial birds of the Roxby Downs area: a ten year history. South Australian Ornithologist 33, 71–83.
Risbey, D. A., Calver, M. C., and Short, J. (1997). Control of feral cats for nature conservaton. I. Field tests of four baiting methods. Wildlife Research 24, 319–326.
| Control of feral cats for nature conservaton. I. Field tests of four baiting methods.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robley, A. J., Short, J., and Bradley, J. S. (2001). Dietary overlap between the burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur) and the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in semi-arid coastal Western Australia. Wildlife Research 28, 341–349.
| Dietary overlap between the burrowing bettong (Bettongia lesueur) and the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in semi-arid coastal Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Short, J., Turner, B., Risbey, D. A., and Carnamah, R. (1997). Control of feral cats for nature conservation. II. Population reduction by poisoning. Wildlife Research 24, 703–714.
| Control of feral cats for nature conservation. II. Population reduction by poisoning.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Short, J., Calver, M. C., and Risbey, D. A. (1999). The impact of cats and foxes on the small vertebrate fauna of Heirisson Prong, Western Australia. I. Exploring potential impact using diet analysis. Wildlife Research 26, 621–630.
| The impact of cats and foxes on the small vertebrate fauna of Heirisson Prong, Western Australia. I. Exploring potential impact using diet analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Short, J., Turner, B., and Risbey, D. A. (2002). Control of feral cats for nature conservation. III. Trapping. Wildlife Research 29, 475–487.
| Control of feral cats for nature conservation. III. Trapping.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Taraborelli, P. A., Dacar, M., and Gianonni, S. N. (2003). Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina). Austral Ecology 28, 651–657.
| Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Twyford, K. L., Humphrey, P. G., Nunn, R. P., and Willoughby, L. (2000). Eradication of feral cats (Felis catus) from Gabo Island, south-east Victoria. Ecological Management & Restoration 1, 42–49.
| Eradication of feral cats (Felis catus) from Gabo Island, south-east Victoria.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
van Polanen Petel, M. A., Marks, C. A., and Morgan, D. G. (2001). Bait palatability influences the caching behaviour of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Wildlife Research 28, 395–401.
| Bait palatability influences the caching behaviour of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
