The Influence of Land Use and Location on Landholder Attitudes Towards Feral Cat (Felis catus) Management in South-eastern Australia

Landholder support and participation is essential to the success of feral cat management, and landholders in various locations with particular land use types are affected differently by the presence of feral cats and by the management approach applied to control them. We used a landholder questionnaire to assess attitudes towards feral cats and levels of acceptance of several feral cat management methods in two south-eastern Australian locations. We found that respondents from different land use types have different attitudes towards feral cats generally, and especially the use of particular feral cat management methods. Sheep farmers were found to be the most highly affected by the presence of feral cats and were consistent in their support for the application of all available management methods to control feral cat populations in their regions. Management authorities could work to educate and communicate with less-informed stakeholders within the community about feral cat management to generate support for interventions.