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World-first within reach as winter blitz targets last feral cats on Kangaroo Island

A winter blitz to remove feral cats is now underway on Kangaroo Island – and it could deliver a world-first.

Delivered by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, the effort aims to remove more than 95 per cent of the remaining feral cat population across the eradication zone, with more than 800 traps opened across the Dudley Peninsula and west of the feral cat exclusion fence.

The program, if successful, will be the largest cat eradication ever achieved on an inhabited island in the world.

Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said: ‘This is exactly the kind of ambitious, practical feral cat action Australia needs more of.

‘The Dudley Peninsula program shows what is possible when governments, landholders and communities back skilled eradication teams with the funding and tools they need.

‘Once complete, this will be the largest successful feral cat eradication on a populated island anywhere in the world – and that’s a huge deal for Australia and globally.

‘Finishing this job means real protection for some of Kangaroo Island’s most vulnerable native animals – including the Kangaroo Island dunnart, echidnas, little penguins and ground-nesting birds.

‘There is already strong co-investment behind this project, with $800,000 committed by the South Australian government and $370,000 the Invaisve Species Council has secured through philanthropic investment. This leaves $2,731,224 in remaining funding for the federal government to step up and deliver.

‘We will continue to work with Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to secure the remaining funding needed to get the Dudley done.

‘This program is now within reach of success. The job is not done until the last cat is removed, and ongoing support from the federal government will be critical to make sure this hard-won progress is locked in.’

South Australian Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Emily Burke said: ‘The state government is proud to support the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board’s work to protect the Dudley Peninsula’s unique native wildlife, farming businesses and future biosecurity.

‘We haven’t wasted any time in delivering on this election promise which allows one of the most important stages of the program to get underway, ensuring that this nationally significant program is on track to succeed.

‘Once complete, the Dudley Peninsula will become the largest human-inhabited feral cat-free area in the world, which is an extraordinary conservation goal for South Australia.’

Member for Mawson, Jenni Mitton said: ‘The hard work, dedication and commitment to this world-leading program has made a significant difference on the Dudley Peninsula in recent years.

‘The next stage of the program aims to see the Dudley Peninsula become the largest feral cat free island haven in the world, providing protection for critically endangered wildlife unique to Kangaroo Island.’

Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program Leader, Paul Jennings said: ‘The funding from the State Government has been critical in resourcing the 2026 knockdown phase before the program moves into mop-up and monitoring to confirm eradication success.

‘The last remaining cats are always the hardest to find − that is why this program is combining specialist eradication skills with the latest tools and technology available.

‘I would like to thank landholders across the Dudley Peninsula for their continued trust and support.

‘Our team is very aware of the privilege of being trusted to access private properties, this is not something we take lightly, and every time our team enters a property, we follow strict biosecurity protocols and work respectfully around farming operations, livestock and property infrastructure.’

Related Content

Call to amend outdated law undermining Kangaroo Island feral cat eradication efforts
South Australia steps up for Kangaroo Island cat eradication – now Commonwealth must finish the job
Proposal to ban new pet cats on Kangaroo Island welcomed

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]