Australia is a bit unique. It has been so long cut off from other continents that when settlers finally started arriving there, they found a land full of hostile animals/insects/other strange things.
Some of the early settlers had the brilliant solution of introducing rabbits Australia. Talk about invasive species.... then once the rabbits got out of control, guess what? They tried introducing other species to get the rabbits under control. Really, one of the most damaging and invasive species is man.
So now Australia is choked with rabbits, apparently feral cats, and oh yes, let's not forget a native species there, kangaroos. We regard kangaroos as "cute", but the Aussies consider them an annoyance, and it's pretty much open season on kangas. Incidentally, kangaroo is good eating. Excellent eating, in fact - they have no fat content in the meat, so if properly prepared, kangaroo meat is tender and succulent. How do I know? I had some when I was in Australia. It was delicious.
I've also eaten snake, possum, squirrel, rabbit, venison, bear, pigeon, emu, shark, jellyfish, alligator, ostrich, and other interesting species. I will never knowingly consume dog or cat, however, because they are "companion" species and in our society, there is a taboo around their consumption. (Other societies, obviously no such taboo exists; you can still find areas such as parts of China where dogs and cats are considered quite a delicacy.)
Cats and dogs have both been domesticated by man for so long that we cannot imagine living without them, whether or not we regard them as "pets". Cats are useful because they hunt out rodents and other truly disgusting species ("disgusting" from the viewpoint of "capable of spreading disease") who would otherwise breed and multiply (ie. rats) and potentially overwhelm us. Dogs are useful because they can help guard us, or hunt with/for us.
Dogs carry disease too. The whole 'carry disease' argument is a bit weak, because every mammalian species is capable of carrying *something* into a "virgin soil" environment. The Conquistadors, for example - they brought pigs with them. Pigs are capable of carrying the same diseases as humans, so, had the humans had the "quarantine" of a month or more at sea to allow viruses to die out, perhaps European infections such as smallpox and influenza would not have wiped out much of the native American population. Instead, man and beast kept the viruses alive between them - the explorers, of course, being very tolerant of the disease, having grown up with them - and active, live viruses were carried into the virgin soil environment of North America. Yay, explorers; wtg.
I'm not saying that Australia doesn't have a feral cat population, but it's also not their only animal issue. So much of their land is just too wide open to possibly even begin to put some of their "pest" species in check.
Catch-and-release has been shown to be effective in cities. That's an important first step, because when feral colonies get too full, they of course split off and form new colonies.
Education is also incredibly important; there are way too many people out there who are ignorant - or refuse to accept - about the importance of neutering one's pet - they're more docile, easier to control, more compliant, and live longer, healthier lives. Neither cats nor dogs have the memory facilities to know that they're missing anything once they are neutered.
Here in Chicago, we have an organization called PAWS Chicago. Their goal is to eliminate euthanasia in the Chicago area through a combination of education, outreach, working with other no-kill shelters, and other initiatives. In the ten years the program has been operating, they have helped the euthanasia rate in Chicago go from over 42,500 to 19,700 last year. They're extremely visible in Chicago, and they have a clinic available in one of the poorest areas of the city that offers low-cost neuter/spaying, not to mention educational outreach into schools all around the city.
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Some of the early settlers had the brilliant solution of introducing rabbits Australia. Talk about invasive species.... then once the rabbits got out of control, guess what? They tried introducing other species to get the rabbits under control. Really, one of the most damaging and invasive species is man.
So now Australia is choked with rabbits, apparently feral cats, and oh yes, let's not forget a native species there, kangaroos. We regard kangaroos as "cute", but the Aussies consider them an annoyance, and it's pretty much open season on kangas. Incidentally, kangaroo is good eating. Excellent eating, in fact - they have no fat content in the meat, so if properly prepared, kangaroo meat is tender and succulent. How do I know? I had some when I was in Australia. It was delicious.
I've also eaten snake, possum, squirrel, rabbit, venison, bear, pigeon, emu, shark, jellyfish, alligator, ostrich, and other interesting species. I will never knowingly consume dog or cat, however, because they are "companion" species and in our society, there is a taboo around their consumption. (Other societies, obviously no such taboo exists; you can still find areas such as parts of China where dogs and cats are considered quite a delicacy.)
Cats and dogs have both been domesticated by man for so long that we cannot imagine living without them, whether or not we regard them as "pets". Cats are useful because they hunt out rodents and other truly disgusting species ("disgusting" from the viewpoint of "capable of spreading disease") who would otherwise breed and multiply (ie. rats) and potentially overwhelm us. Dogs are useful because they can help guard us, or hunt with/for us.
Dogs carry disease too. The whole 'carry disease' argument is a bit weak, because every mammalian species is capable of carrying *something* into a "virgin soil" environment. The Conquistadors, for example - they brought pigs with them. Pigs are capable of carrying the same diseases as humans, so, had the humans had the "quarantine" of a month or more at sea to allow viruses to die out, perhaps European infections such as smallpox and influenza would not have wiped out much of the native American population. Instead, man and beast kept the viruses alive between them - the explorers, of course, being very tolerant of the disease, having grown up with them - and active, live viruses were carried into the virgin soil environment of North America. Yay, explorers; wtg.
I'm not saying that Australia doesn't have a feral cat population, but it's also not their only animal issue. So much of their land is just too wide open to possibly even begin to put some of their "pest" species in check.
Catch-and-release has been shown to be effective in cities. That's an important first step, because when feral colonies get too full, they of course split off and form new colonies.
Education is also incredibly important; there are way too many people out there who are ignorant - or refuse to accept - about the importance of neutering one's pet - they're more docile, easier to control, more compliant, and live longer, healthier lives. Neither cats nor dogs have the memory facilities to know that they're missing anything once they are neutered.
Here in Chicago, we have an organization called PAWS Chicago. Their goal is to eliminate euthanasia in the Chicago area through a combination of education, outreach, working with other no-kill shelters, and other initiatives. In the ten years the program has been operating, they have helped the euthanasia rate in Chicago go from over 42,500 to 19,700 last year. They're extremely visible in Chicago, and they have a clinic available in one of the poorest areas of the city that offers low-cost neuter/spaying, not to mention educational outreach into schools all around the city.