The discovery of a dying duckling in Manor Lakes has prompted calls for cat owners to keep their pets indoors.
The duckling, from a protected native species, was found near a local waterway with a hole in its chest and bites to its body. The injuries were likely inflected by a cat.
The Werribee River Association said that despite the efforts of two residents, the tiny bird “spent the last few minutes of its life in agony”.
The WRA has asked Wyndham’s cat owners to take more responsibility for their pets and develop a “cat plan” this summer.
This includes preventing cats from roaming away from home, by keeping them indoors or having a secure outdoor enclosure, such as a cat run, for them to use in the yard.
According to the RSPCA, kittens generally adapt well to an indoor lifestyle if they have been contained from an early age
It is recommended that if you have a cat who roams, that you try to introduce them to being contained gradually – initially keeping them inside at night, then gradually increasing the time they are contained during the day
The WRA said that this would not only help to prevent the deaths of native animals, but would help to keep cats safe from cars, from being stolen and from becoming involved in fights with other felines.
A 2019 study found that cats kill two billion native animals in Australia every year – including birds, reptiles and small mammals like possums and bandicoots.
Researchers also found that the average pet cat kills 186 animals a year.
“A myriad of other animals call Melbourne home, including the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot, which uses Werribee as a key habitat during their migration between southern Australia and Tasmania,” the WRA statement said.
Details: safeandhappycats.com.au/
