Image caption: A Felixer grooming trap in the landscape with the new pictorial guide. Image credit: Gillian Basnett.

 

Case study | Bruny Island Cat Management Project

Bruny Island is a nationally recognised Priority Place that supports important species such as the eastern quoll, as well as threatened sea and migratory birds.

Led by NRM South, the Bruny Island Cat Management Project has been operating since 2019 through successive Australian Government funding programs and now forms part of the Biodiverse Bruny Island initiative.

The project brings together local and state agencies, researchers, community and First Nations groups and private landholders to manage the impacts of domestic, stray and feral cats across the island. It combines conventional trapping alongside trials of emerging technologies such as Felixer grooming traps.

These Felixer units have demonstrated high target accuracy and potential for controlling trap-shy cats. These efforts demonstrate the value of long-term investment, strong partnerships and innovative management in protecting Bruny Island’s unique biodiversity.

The program has delivered significant conservation outcomes, including a welcome increase in short-tailed shearwater burrow occupancy since 2021 and a five- to six-fold reduction in feral cat numbers in key management areas. With the detection of H5N1 bird flu on Australia’s shores in recent weeks, feral cat management has become even more critical than before to give Australia’s bird life the best chance in the face of new threats.