Cat and fox - both needing shooting

[NTSOG]

G'day,

I keep two bait stations running and have regular 'trade' from foxes coming out of the bush and pine plantations behind my property. Lately the site has received visits from a cat. I have caught it on camera before at other bait stations, but it hasn't come at reasonable hours for me to consider shooting it. Last night it turned up a little after 9:00 PM. The fox I'm after didn't come until 2:40 AM and probably found little bait left after the cat finished. I have been after this fox, a vixen I believe, for several weeks - she's very smart and hunts around the site checking the wind for my scent before she comes in - if at all. I shot 2 juveniles that I often saw with her three weeks ago. Generally she comes at about 9:30 to 10:15 PM, but she's not always reliable as last night proved.

The main issue for me with this cat is whether it is truly feral and thus fair game in Victoria. It is out and about after hours and on my property. I consider it feral and deserving of a bullet, but what are the legalities?

Jim

[SCJ429]

Feral cats kill as many native species as a fox would. They are a big problem in the bush and need to be removed. No collar or bell equals feral cat to me.

[Stix]

Id consider cats by far the worst invasive feral we have if comparing to foxes...!!
Truck loads more destructive than any fox...

Ive seen a cat wipe out a rabbit population & make a low lying bird population completely vanish in a matter of weeks (little finches/willies/local currawong population etc)...
As well as wipe out the frillnecks that were bouncing back after not having been seen in the area for many years---ironically the same amount of years that cats hadnt been around for...

Those same populations were happy enough to be surviving & thriving very well with a healthy fox population.

If the cat is on your property, well away from where it might reside, & you are rural...shoot the bloody thing...bell or not...!!!

[RoginaJack]

Solution simple -

1. Remove cat. 2. Remove fox..

Problem solved, until another cat takes it's place. Repeat.

[NTSOG]

G'day all,

Stix the bait site is well into my property so the nearest [new] house on 20 acres is about 500 yards away to the north - there has been some subdivision of the original farm in the area over the last few years. My property though not huge is rated as a farm by the Shire. The cat wears no collar. If it is a domestic cat, its owner really doesn't care much for it by letting it roam. Everyone in the neighbourhood knows [and can hear] I am knocking of foxes whenever I see them and the subject of feral cats has been widely discussed in the press over the years. Even so it seems, having read the government pronouncements about feral cats, that there is a grey area relating to semi-owned/domesticated cats allowed to roam by their slack owners. These animals are not fully feral, but rarely controlled and undoubtedly kill as many native animals as a truly wild cat as they roam at night. To me they are deserving of a bullet.

I'll see if it turns up tonight and have a crack at it.

Jim

[pomemax]

Solution is relativly easy just dont talk about cats getting sent to the big mouse in da sky .

[Oldbloke]

Can shoot them. But not always. Lol

http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agricultu ... al-or-wild

[RoginaJack]

just shoot, bury, shut-up.

Quote -
If allowed outdoors, all cats will terrorize, maim, and kill native birds and other small wild animals, who are struggling to survive other challenges (such as development in their habitats) and aren’t equipped to deal with non-native predators. These animals die from puncture wounds and from being crushed by cats’ jaws. Unfortunately, many cats spend a great deal of time playing with their dying, convulsing prey, whose suffering is intense. Many of these animals are then left to die slowly.

Cats have one major advantage over other ferals; Cats can climb trees etc. in search of prey.

[snag]

A cat hunting on your land is no different to someone's dog worrying your stock. Shootable offence, collar or not. That's just reality in the country and I don't think anyone would argue with that.

[Stix]

Yep all above are right...except for any of the "grey areas" anyone might point out...its a farkcing cat...

Its eyes are no different to a fox...& as far as i understand, snag is correct with it wandering on your land..

And quite frankly, if all the neighbours know you shoot foxes & let a cat wander then they cant be too worried about it...
So shoot the bloody thing....!!!

But dont waste it by burying it like RJ says...no no...skin the fukr first, make a hat from the tanned fur, & put it on a scarecrow at the entrance to your property...

Nike'

[NTSOG]

Oldbloke: "Can shoot them. But not always. Lol"

I read that Ag-Vic document and was also amused and confused: "This species is a declared established pest animal on specified Crown land in Victoria …"

But: "Feral cats have not been declared an established pest on private land, meaning farmers and other private landholders will not be required to control feral cats." However being allowed by published statute or Act to shoot any and all cats coming on my property is apparently a step too far for the bureaucrats lest some desperate cat-lover screams to the press.

Hopefully the blighter will turn up early tonight,

Jim

[Oldbloke]

Oldbloke: "Can shoot them. But not always. Lol"

I read that Ag-Vic document and was also amused and confused: "This species is a declared established pest animal on specified Crown land in Victoria …"

But: "Feral cats have not been declared an established pest on private land, meaning farmers and other private landholders will not be required to control feral cats." However being allowed by published statute or Act to shoot any and all cats coming on my property is apparently a step too far for the bureaucrats lest some desperate cat-lover screams to the press.

Hopefully the blighter will turn up early tonight,

Jim

Yeh lol. The way I read it.
You may shoot on your land (not certain about this) but no obligation.
We cant shoot in SF or other crown land but some Gov departments can. Half baked.

[sungazer]

In some shires they have very strict cat laws. Like must always be contained as live inside or outside but in a cage. Any roaming cat is fair game for ranger (fine) if caught or pest control. I would certainly shoot any cat that I saw on my property at night.

[Blr243]

Ntsog. I won’t mention any names, but someone here mentioned you are a top bloke .... this info , combined with the fact that I’m out of work atm and have too much time on my hands , has allowed me the time to help you out. So this arv , I have made an instructional video just for you to help you work out how to deal with this dilemma , so hoping this helps. https://youtu.be/9r34-oQWvB8

[NTSOG]

G'day Blr243,

Thanks for the video: I liked the somersaulting cat - I scored it 8.5, but the entry into the water was a bit rough.

Sungazer: "In some shires they have very strict cat laws." That would make it a lot easier from a legal perspective to shoot any cat straying onto other properties.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk on a very large neighbouring farm through which runs a creek that finally flows through a very deep gully that's full of gorse and blackberries, rabbits and foxes. I followed along the creek and, walking along the ridge above the creek, spotted a large ginger cat hunting on the far hill side and outside my shooting range with my .222 at the moment. I have no doubt that this particular cat was feral in the fullest sense of the word and would have not hesitated to shoot it had I the skill. It's the grey areas about what constitutes a feral cat from a straying domestic cat that confuses me, together with the knowledge that some magistrates [according to my policeman neighbour] don't like recreational shooters at all.

Jim

[RoginaJack]

really like the Scarecrow idea STIX, should get the message across...

[Die Judicii]

So simple,,,,,,,,
If the cat is off the front veranda,,,, it's feral.
The best other way of finding out is to first, shoot it,, then if questions are asked (where is my pussy ?) then you know it wasn't.

Re the fox,,,,,, the mistake you made was you should've shot the vixen first,,, then the pups are easy.
You've done it back to front my man.
Because she is coming at different times shows she is very smart.

[NTSOG]

G'day Die Judicii,

This vixen comes to the bait from different directions as well as different times and is clearly trying to get wind of me. Last week she sat for nearly four minutes up the paddock at about 100 yards as I peeked out from between two large round bales viewing her through my thermal monocular. I waited for her to come in closer, but she didn't. I raised the rifle but she started walking off home. She has also tracked around the dam at water's edge to try to get wind of me where I sat on the dam wall. She is very smart and so far has won every round over the last 4 weeks or so. She came to the bait last night 10 minutes after I packed up and went to bed and the damn cat didn't front!
Jim

[Blr243]

I heard about a woolgrower that was losing sheep and he worked out that it was a pack of huskies belonging to a bloke in town. He approached the bloke but he denied his huskies were out killing at night So next time the huskies went on a killing spree the woolgrower grabbed his rifle and a spotlight and he shot all the huskies in one session. Then he dumped all the huskies on the owners front patio .....not avery discrete move but he stopped losing sheep

[Die Judicii]

G'day Die Judicii,

This vixen comes to the bait from different directions as well as different times and is clearly trying to get wind of me. Last week she sat for nearly four minutes up the paddock at about 100 yards as I peeked out from between two large round bales viewing her through my thermal monocular. I waited for her to come in closer, but she didn't. I raised the rifle but she started walking off home. She has also tracked around the dam at water's edge to try to get wind of me where I sat on the dam wall. She is very smart and so far has won every round over the last 4 weeks or so. She came to the bait last night 10 minutes after I packed up and went to bed and the damn cat didn't front!
Jim

You could outsmart her by setting traps around the bait station,,, she's obviously more intent on you, so a trap would get her.
Think outside the box Mate.

[RoginaJack]

BLR243. We were losing sheep and lambs; has us all stumped; turned out to be the boss's Labrador (a bloody house pet), unfortunately I caught it in the act while mustering, it caught a stirrup iron.

The fox and cat might be swapping notes and rosters. Try a bit of cat dung around the trap

[Die Judicii]

BLR243. We were losing sheep and lambs; has us all stumped; turned out to be the boss's Labrador (a bloody house pet), unfortunately I caught it in the act while mustering, it caught a stirrup iron.

The fox and cat might be swapping notes and rosters. Try a bit of cat dung around the trap

A stirrup Iron ?????????????
Bloody hell,,,, What a tragic accident

[Blr243]

Rojina jack. Are you still mustering on horses ? Only know of one place that still musters with horses and dogs , gorge country

[Blr243]

Or is a stirrup iron just an expression for a good flogging with any type of handy material?

[RoginaJack]

BLR243...Nope, Stirrup iron, very handy tool while on horse back...Taken out the odd feral dog too.

Long story, short version - when race horses retired, some where selected for the Mounted Police and sent out to the property fo R & R. We used them as stock horses for mustering Brahmans, lets just say they enjoyed the chase (read between the lines) , Go like a shower of .....When we can across a feral dog (very seldom), line it up and "GO RINTY", slip out the stirrup and see who made it into the tree line first and they got annoyed if we stuffed up.
The horses loved the chase and had to keep your wits about 'cause they would just take off after a old Boar out on the salt flats But that's another story...

PS. Na, haven't mustered for many years, I'm flat out throwing a leg over getting into bed these days that alone anything else...

Di Judicci, Just tragic but never stand too close when someone swings a saddle off , never know what might happen...

[NTSOG]

G'day,

I was out on another property yesterday scouting and retired early [somewhat knackered] as we elderly types do. In the meantime both cat and fox turned up at the same time at my bait station at the dam - around 9:45 PM as can be seen in the photo. It looks like the fox got seconds as she was only shown scrounging for scraps in the last two photos of the series at 1:10 AM this morning, well after the cat finished eating the main meal and had left the 'table'. I was going to ask which animal would be dominant, but it looks like the cat is in this situation.

I know where I'll be hunting tonight.

Jim

[flutch]

Feral cats kill as many native species as a fox would. They are a big problem in the bush and need to be removed. No collar or bell equals feral cat to me.

Mate you're generous, outside a house means feral to me, even if it's wearing a collar, bells and kitty cat clothes from the pet shop.

[flutch]

Cats were declared a pest Australia wide last year

[SCJ429]

Great photo there Jim, I hope you have a little luck on your next hunting trip.

[marksman]

Great photo there Jim, I hope you have a little luck on your next hunting trip.

+1