$500,000 In Grants Awarded To Help Manage Feral Cats

  • Five community organisations funded through round 3 of the Feral Cat Management Grant program
  • Projects will support threatened species through innovative feral cat management and research
  • Part of the Cook Government's nation-first Feral Cat Management Strategy

Five community organisations will share $500,000 to improve feral cat management in Western Australia thanks to the Cook Government's Feral Cat Management Grant program.

Warren Catchments Council received the largest share of funding, receiving more than $180,000 to expand ethical feral cat management across new areas of the Warren region. The project aims to protect the region's unique threatened fauna, which includes numbats, woylies, and western ringtail possums.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy was awarded nearly $140,000 for a project that will address crucial knowledge gaps in the genome sequencing of feral cat populations across priority areas of the State. The research will assess the feasibility of new genetic biocontrol technologies and will be delivered in collaboration with CSIRO and the WA feral cat management community.

To date, the grant program has invested $1.5 million in 13 projects to help mitigate the devastating impacts of feral cats across the State.

The fourth and final round of Feral Cat Management Grant funding will open for applications next year. For more information, visit: www.dpird.wa.gov.au/fcmg

As stated by the Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn:

"Feral cats pose the greatest threat to many of WA's most threatened native species, which is why the Cook Government delivered the nation's first Feral Cat Strategy to crack down on their devastating impacts.

"We're empowering community organisations to protect some of our State's most vulnerable species, including the chuditch, hooded plover and numbat, which are being pushed to the brink of extinction.

"Congratulations to this year's Feral Cat Management Grant recipients. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of this important work."

Round 3 Feral Cat Management Grant funded project

Organisation

Region

Project title

Project objective

Grant amount (ex GST)

Warren Catchments Council

South West

Warren region feral cat management project

Extend ethical feral cat management through targeted control, community awareness, and research development.

$185,704

Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee Inc

Great Southern

Tenure blind feral cat control - Eungedup trial

Provide feral cat control across Eungedup Wetlands, which support threatened species on the south coast of WA.

$97,189

Friends of the Dale River Inc

Wheatbelt

Dale River reserve feral cat management program

Undertake feral cat management at the Class A Dale River Reserve and participating surrounding properties to protect and preserve native fauna.

$23,520

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

State-wide

Feral cat population genomics supporting management and biocontrol

Support the collation and whole genome sequencing of feral cat tissue samples across a range of land tenures in priority areas throughout WA.

$139,365

Bush Blocks Guardians Inc

Wheatbelt

BBG feral cat management program

Undertake feral cat management on a 666-hectare conservation property in the Shire of Westonia.

$54,222

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