Ed Thexton calls on cat lovers to do their bit for wildlife. By Ed Thexton
THE great thing about travel is that it gives you air to reflect on your life at home, experience the unexpected and, if in Japan, to experience the first world done differently (no crime, no grime). One such place on our way to the venerable Mt Fuji back in April was the Hakone Open Air Museum in the small tourist town of Gora where we came across the Picasso Exhibition Hall, two storeys of paintings, sculptures and ceramic works in addition to photos of the artist at various points during his life. The other was a cat shop. Visualise an armada of waving paws, devoted to all thing cat. The Japanese clearly love their cats.
It was here that my brain, free from the trivialities of home life, was let out to roam. Triggered by the surprise juxtaposition of Picasso’s high art and cat crap, I reflected on the Jekyll and Hyde duality of Felis catus, the domestic moggy.
THE great thing about travel is that it gives you air to reflect on your life at home, experience the unexpected and, if in Japan, to experience the first world done differently (no crime, no grime). One such place on our way to the venerable Mt Fuji back in April was the Hakone Open Air Museum in the small tourist town of Gora where we came across the Picasso Exhibition Hall, two storeys of paintings, sculptures and ceramic works in addition to photos of the artist at various points during his life. The other was a cat shop. Visualise an armada of waving paws, devoted to all thing cat. The Japanese clearly love their cats.
It was here that my brain, free from the trivialities of home life, was let out to roam. Triggered by the surprise juxtaposition of Picasso’s high art and cat crap, I reflected on the Jekyll and Hyde duality of Felis catus, the domestic moggy.
How an animal can embody warmth, comfort and affection as an intimate companion animal of the home only to morph into a ruthlessly efficient killer when let out, and then, with a lift of the cat flap, step inside to transform back into the demanding, dismissive, purveyor of the purr, while hiding the inner smirk in the knowledge of a full belly and another successful hunt. Stretched out or curled in its favourite sunspot, it digests its prey. And it will venture out tomorrow, the next day and the next for a decade or more.
Of course, we of the South Gippsland Conservation Society have unwittingly aided and abetted them by creating the perfect habitat to attract the birds and smaller creatures they hunt.
We have long known about the impact of cat predation on wildlife. However, in recent years analysis of stomach content has revealed that, far from just killing a bird or two, feral and domestic cats alike are killing the smaller animals closer to the foundation of the food chain: insects, reptiles, frogs, birds and small animals up to 200 grams. As a chain is only as strong as its weakest link a great deal of our habitat work may have been compromised.
Fortunately, the Bass Coast Shire Council has responded to those concerns with a Domestic Animal Management Plan to foster safe, responsible pet ownership. In 2021 it introduced a night-time curfew for cats and from 1 July 2023 cats need to be contained to their owners' property at all times.
On a perfect viewing day riding the gondola to take in the exquisite symmetry and might of Mt Fuji, part of my brain continued to mull on how we at the SGCS could support the new containment order. After all, our work and the animals we love will be the direct beneficiaries.
I started with marketing. What catchy acronym? There is no acronym catchier in relation to cats than CLAW. Now to give meaning to the acronym. Who are we targeting? That was easy – cat lovers. What are our concerns? Wildlife. What do we want to do? Stop wildlife extinction. Adding an E to make CLAWE came easily, hence – Cat Lovers Against Wildlife Extinction.
I was driven by the example of my bird-loving neighbours who bought an enormous urban block on a creek,from fellow bird lovers. People who had worked diligently for decades to retain the large remnant indigenous trees and complement them by planting indigenous trees and shrubs. Having made the financial sacrifice, my fellow bird lovers continue to pursue their love of birds through careful management to maximise habitat. The result: nesting opportunities for bushland birds, locally unparalleled.
What happens? As a tourist town, visitors come down to stay nearby. They come with their cat. A black cat. A black cat they let out at night to roam. An image now cemented in my mind’s eye. An image that gradually emerged into a sign. An image that our Society artist friend, Colin Suggett, was able to craft after only a couple of phone conversations. Purrfect.
The sign lets it be known that roaming cats are not welcome here. A few such signs in a street give local meaning to the new cat containment laws and forewarn cat lovers that here are people who do not take kindly to roaming cats at any time.
Furthermore, the sign is proof that loving cats and being against wildlife extinction are not mutually exclusive. That here are people who don’t hate cat lovers, nor cats, and are prepared to do them both a favour while asking for reciprocal respect for their love of the animals they value. Animals that people like my neighbours have devoted energy, money and decades to perpetuating in our area.
While hopefully also jogging their memory that owners whose cats are found roaming now risk a $192 fine, as well as pound release fees.
CLAWE signs will be available for $5 at the Bunurong Environment Centre from early September.
Of course, we of the South Gippsland Conservation Society have unwittingly aided and abetted them by creating the perfect habitat to attract the birds and smaller creatures they hunt.
We have long known about the impact of cat predation on wildlife. However, in recent years analysis of stomach content has revealed that, far from just killing a bird or two, feral and domestic cats alike are killing the smaller animals closer to the foundation of the food chain: insects, reptiles, frogs, birds and small animals up to 200 grams. As a chain is only as strong as its weakest link a great deal of our habitat work may have been compromised.
Fortunately, the Bass Coast Shire Council has responded to those concerns with a Domestic Animal Management Plan to foster safe, responsible pet ownership. In 2021 it introduced a night-time curfew for cats and from 1 July 2023 cats need to be contained to their owners' property at all times.
On a perfect viewing day riding the gondola to take in the exquisite symmetry and might of Mt Fuji, part of my brain continued to mull on how we at the SGCS could support the new containment order. After all, our work and the animals we love will be the direct beneficiaries.
I started with marketing. What catchy acronym? There is no acronym catchier in relation to cats than CLAW. Now to give meaning to the acronym. Who are we targeting? That was easy – cat lovers. What are our concerns? Wildlife. What do we want to do? Stop wildlife extinction. Adding an E to make CLAWE came easily, hence – Cat Lovers Against Wildlife Extinction.
I was driven by the example of my bird-loving neighbours who bought an enormous urban block on a creek,from fellow bird lovers. People who had worked diligently for decades to retain the large remnant indigenous trees and complement them by planting indigenous trees and shrubs. Having made the financial sacrifice, my fellow bird lovers continue to pursue their love of birds through careful management to maximise habitat. The result: nesting opportunities for bushland birds, locally unparalleled.
What happens? As a tourist town, visitors come down to stay nearby. They come with their cat. A black cat. A black cat they let out at night to roam. An image now cemented in my mind’s eye. An image that gradually emerged into a sign. An image that our Society artist friend, Colin Suggett, was able to craft after only a couple of phone conversations. Purrfect.
The sign lets it be known that roaming cats are not welcome here. A few such signs in a street give local meaning to the new cat containment laws and forewarn cat lovers that here are people who do not take kindly to roaming cats at any time.
Furthermore, the sign is proof that loving cats and being against wildlife extinction are not mutually exclusive. That here are people who don’t hate cat lovers, nor cats, and are prepared to do them both a favour while asking for reciprocal respect for their love of the animals they value. Animals that people like my neighbours have devoted energy, money and decades to perpetuating in our area.
While hopefully also jogging their memory that owners whose cats are found roaming now risk a $192 fine, as well as pound release fees.
CLAWE signs will be available for $5 at the Bunurong Environment Centre from early September.