http://www.theguardian.com/Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Thursday 16 July 2015 08.12 BST Last modified on Thursday 16 July 2015 08.15 BST
The Australian government has pledged to kill two million feral cats and create new safe havens for native animals in an attempt to improve the fortunes of 20 mammal, 20 bird and 30 plant species that are at risk of extinction.
Federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, unveiled a five-year threatened species strategy at Melbourne zoo on Thursday, promising to “halt and reverse the threats to our magnificent endemic speciesâ€.
The first 10 mammal species identified for priority action are the numbat, mala, mountain pygmy-possum, greater bilby, golden bandicoot, brush-tailed rabbit-rat, eastern bettong, western quoll, Kangaroo Island dunnart and eastern barred bandicoot.
A further two – the leadbeater’s possum, Victoria’s faunal emblem that was recently listed as critically endangered, and the central rock rat – will get “emergency interventionsâ€, Hunt said.
The environment minister, who announced the bird species that will receive help on Wednesday, said that two million feral cats, a major cause of native mammal and bird declines, will be wiped out “humanely†by 2020.
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Topic: Australian government declares war on feral cats in bid to save native animals (Read 1575 times)