An application is before the Federal Government to allow the importation of the hybrid Bengal cat as a ”pet”. Photo: Wiki.
An application before the Federal Government to once more allow the importation of Bengal cats into Australia is being strongly rebuffed by the Invasive Species Council, which says it would be “deliberately unleashing more genetic monsters” on the country’s native wildlife.
The Environment Department is inviting public comment on an application to include the Bengal cat, which is a hybrid of a domestic cat (Felis catus) and an Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), in the Live Import List under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
If allowed, it would only be for non-commercial household pet purposes.
Asian leopard cats are rainforest animals and agile climbers. They can also swim.
The department’s policy on importing Bengal cats changed in March this year when it removed them from the live import list.
The move was part of a “very high priority” of the national Feral Cat Threat Abatement Plan, acknowledging that hybrids pose unique and dangerous risks.
The national plan warns that hybrid cats “have different body sizes, physical abilities, and behaviours that could give them access to native species that are currently less susceptible to impacts from the feral cat”.
The policy as it currently stands states: “Bengal cats are now treated in the same way as all other specimens and hybrids under national environmental law. They cannot be imported.”
But now, someone wants to reopen the door and allow Bengal cats into Australia – and Environment Minister Murray Watt is considering the application.
“Can this hybrid animal survive in the Australian environment and breed with other species that may be present in Australia?” is one question the Environment Department is asking.
“What diseases can this hybrid animal carry or transmit and what diseases are they known to be susceptible to?
“What are the likely potential impacts to the environment if this hybrid was to establish a feral population in Australia?”
The Invasive Species Council has described the development as “sheer lunacy” that could “supercharge Australia’s cat crisis”.
Chief executive officer Jack Gough said domestic roaming cats already killed more than 300 million native animals every year in Australia, and feral cats had driven at least 25 species to extinction.
Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough says it is crazy the application is even being considered. Photo: ISC.
“Now imagine crossing them with an Asian leopard cat – the result is a hybrid killing machine,” he said.
“This crazy proposal, if approved, would reopen the door for allowing more of these genetic monsters into Australia, at a time when our wildlife is already buckling under the pressure of domestic cats.
“To deliberately import them, knowing how this super-species could intensify the problem, is sheer lunacy.”
Mr Gough said the fact that the Minister and Australia’s biosecurity system were even contemplating a backflip on the March ban was a “clear sign” of a weak structure that needed reform.
”If this is allowed, then we have to ask, ‘What’s next?’ Will foxes be allowed to be imported?” he said.
“This Bengal cat proposal shows why Australia desperately needs reforms of live import processes as part of Minister Watt’s review of environmental law.
“This should include a list for prohibited animals and clear powers for the Minister to say ‘no’ upfront to unacceptable proposals, without having to waste already limited departmental resources on timely assessments.
“Bengal cats are hybrids of the domestic cat and Asian leopard cat. They are athletic, powerful climbers with adaptations for living in rainforests.
“When Bengal cats escape – as is inevitable – or breed with feral cats, they will add genes to the feral cat population that might adapt cats to more readily live in rainforests, hunt wildlife in trees, swim to cat-free islands, or scale the fences that protect threatened mammals inside havens.
“Reversing that decision now would be reckless beyond belief. At a time when governments are struggling to control feral cats, why would we open the gates to a genetic monster that could make the problem even worse?
“If we let more of these hybrid killing machines into Australia, we’ll never undo the damage once they inevitably get out into the bush.
“We urge Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to do the responsible thing and block this ridiculous proposal and prioritise reform of live imports as part of the EBPC Act reforms.”
The consultation can be found on the department’s website and will remain open for public submissions until 10 October.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
