Fenced “safe havens” or islands could help provide a safe space away from feral cats for native animals, a conservation project recommends. 

Fairfax MP Ted O’Brien, who chairs the parliamentary committee looking into the issue, said feral cats are estimated to kill 3 billion native animals a year.

“A feral cat is a cat who lives, breathes and hunts, in the wild,” he told Bill McDonald on 4BC.

“There are 2.8 million of them throughout Australia.”

He said when there’s food, the population can explode.

“The damage is horrific, it’s over 3 billion native animals they kill every single year.

“It’s the numbers that made the penny drop for me on this issue.”

He said Project Noah recommends the rollout of a network of fenced safe havens or islands free from cats, as well as culling cats when the technology becomes available.

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