Fox and Cat Control Project
Controlling feral animals to protect and preserve biodiversity.
Controlling foxes and feral cats to preserve threatened species on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).Healthy Land & Water has partnered with the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) to implement a fox and feral cat control program over 600 hectares of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
Foxes and feral cats have had a devastating effect on the island’s landscape and threatened species, impacting their population size and resilience.
This project is protecting and preserving threatened species found within the Ramsar Wetland environments including turtles, water mice, shorebirds, and frogs.
The project focuses on:
- Fox and Feral Cat Control on Minjerribah with baiting and monitoring.
- Reducing endangerment of threatened species in the Moreton Bay Ramsar Wetland.
- QYAC-led project to control pests on Country.
What we are doing
Partnering up to eradicate feral pests on the island.
Together with QYAC, we are working alongside the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) to eradicate feral pests on the island.
Project activities include:
- Deploying bait stations and traps.
- Installing monitoring cameras to capture fox and cat movement and their engagement with baits/traps to respond to changes in their behaviour.
- Recording the number of baits taken and animals trapped.
- Trialling new technologies and methods to achieve successful control outcomes over the coming years.
- Community education focused on responsible pet ownership with residents and visitors to the island.
Measuring success
- This project is part of a larger program that QYAC has been running for the past six years to control foxes and cats across the whole island.
- Since its commencement, the program has successfully removed more than 700 foxes from Minjerribah. It has been so successful that the fox population has now diminished down to a few remaining ones.
- This project is helping to target those last remaining individuals, to hopefully eradicate foxes from Minjerribah completely.
- Eradicating these invasive species will help protect the special and diverse array of native species found on Minjerribah and across Quandamooka (Moreton Bay).
Why this project is important
|
Minjerribah has a diversity of habitats including mangroves, wetlands, endangered heathlands, freshwater lakes, rainforests, old-growth forests, and woodlands. These are home to threatened species including the Cooloola sedge frog, black-necked stork, water mouse, swift parrot, and little tern, as well as a genetically distinct population of koalas. The island’s wetlands, foreshore swamps, and interconnecting land are listed as part of the Moreton Bay Ramsar site, acknowledging the rich biodiversity of the area and the role it plays in providing a habitat for vulnerable, endangered, and near-threatened species. Foxes and feral cats have had a devastating effect on the island’s landscape and threatened species, impacting their population size and resilience. |
Project snapshot
| Project name: | Fox and Cat Control On Minjerribah |
| Project manager: | Chelsea Kluske, Healthy Land & Water |
| Catchment: | Moreton Bay |
| Timing: | 2018 – 2023 (Completed) |
| Budget: | $87,000 |
| Partnerships: |
This project is a collaboration between the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Healthy Land & Water, with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. Key support and collaboration have been given by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). |
| Related Articles: |
What's next
There is huge potential to build on the successful work.
Project collaborators
This project is a collaboration between the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and Healthy Land & Water, with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Key support and collaboration have been given by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS).
