Born to roam? Surveying cat owners in Tasmania, Australia, to identify the drivers and barriers to cat containment

McLeod, Lynette J.; Hine, Donald W.; Bengsen, Andrew J.

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.11.007

Cited by 49 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In New Zealand, as has occurred in Australia (e.g., Department of Local Government, ), the first proposals to reduce cats' hunting of wildlife have been to first regulate cat ownership and legislate for cat confinement. However, reliance on voluntary compliance and problems with enforcement often result in less‐than‐effective adoption than anticipated by government agencies (McLeod et al, ). While some changes can be achieved this way, a significant number of cat owners may not be swayed by new rules and passively, or actively, flout them, allowing their cats to roam.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is a similar rate to Australians engaging in the same behaviors more than a decade ago (e.g., 34%, Van de Kuyt, ; 38%, Lilith et al, ) at which time there was also very low support among Australian cat‐owners for 24‐hr confinement. In Australia, 24‐hr cat confinement was also not considered an essential component of responsible pet ownership with some viewing all‐day confinement as cruel and “unnatural” (McCarthy, ; McLeod et al, ; Rochlitz, ). Lilith et al () also found only 6% of cat owners confined their cats to their property via an enclosure, but there was greater acceptance and implementation of bringing cats inside at night (Grayson & Calver, ).…”

Section: Incremental Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on the challenge cats pose to biodiversity conservation has, until now, largely focused on understanding cat habitat‐use and depredation (e.g., in New Zealand: Aguilar et al 2015; Kikillus et al, ; UK: Hanmer, Thomas, & Fellowes, ; USA: Loyd et al, ; Australia: Lilith, Calver, & Garkaklis, ). Research dedicated to the human dimension of changing cat owner behavior is comparatively uncommon but important (e.g., Gramza, Teel, VandeWoude, & Crooks, ; MacDonald, Milfont, & Gavin, ; McDonald, Farnworth, & Clements, ; McLeod, Hine, & Bengsen, ; McLeod, Hine, Bengsen, & Driver, ; Peterson et al, ; Walker et al, ). Proposed solutions have largely focused on changes to law and governance, gradually imposing greater constraints and obligations on cat ownership (Walker et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Linklater

Farnworth

Heezik³

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Behavior prioritization is underutilized but critical to the success of conservation campaigns. It provides an understanding of the target audience's values, transcending conflict, and informing the design of achievable and effective advocacy campaigns. Depredation by domestic cats may depress wildlife populations, leading to conflict between cat owners and conservationists. We surveyed veterinarians and cat owners at veterinary clinics to prioritize a list of nine cat‐management behaviors. Cat‐owner behaviors were ranked by their (a) likelihood of implementation and (b) current adoption rate by cat owners, (c) perceived effectiveness at reducing predation on wildlife, and (d) veterinarians' opinions about their impact on cat welfare. Bringing cats in at night, from before dusk until after dawn, was revealed to be the behavior most suited to a campaign to reduce cats' hunting. Behaviors ranked as more effective for conservation (e.g., 24‐hr cat confinement) were unlikely to be adopted by cat owners or not supported by veterinarians, whose expert and normative support may be critical to a campaign. Although more conservation‐effective behaviors received a lower priority, we discuss the repeated use of behavior prioritization to achieve incremental reductions in cat depredation by engaging with cat owners.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Incremental Progressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Linklater

Farnworth

Heezik³

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, such surveys are limited in their ability to extend our understanding as to the reasoning and affective factors informing these perceptions. More recently, researchers in Australia (McLeod, Hine, & Bengsen, 2015) and New Zealand (Harrod, Keown, & Farnworth, 2016) have investigated perceptions and use of specific management interventions-containment and collars, respectivelywith the aim of identifying barriers to their use and/or informing behaviour change strategies.…”

Section: Cat Owner Perceptions and Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting behaviour in domestic cats: An exploratory study of risk and responsibility among cat owners

2019

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The potential impact of domestic cats on wildlife is the subject of growing international interest and concern. While feral cats are often the primary focus of research and debate, in many societies a substantial proportion of domestic cats are owned by private individuals. We present a typology that classifies domestic cats in relation to varying degrees of human control over their reproduction, movement, and provisioning. Understanding the perceptions and practices of cat owners will be key to identifying and mitigating any negative ecological effects of cat hunting behaviour. To investigate how cat owners perceive (a) their pets’ hunting behaviour, (b) their responsibilities for managing this, and (c) the mitigation strategies available, we conducted detailed interviews with a diverse sample of cat owners in the United Kingdom. We identified a spectrum of views on hunting behaviour, from owners who perceived hunting as positive (for pest control, or as healthy cat behaviour) to those who were deeply concerned about its consequences for wild animals, their populations, and welfare. However, hunting was widely understood as a normal, natural component of cat behaviour, and owners rarely perceived a strong individual responsibility for preventing or reducing it. Those who did wish to manage hunting perceived several barriers to this, including concern that they were unable to control behaviour effectively without compromising cat welfare, doubt about the efficacy and practicality of popular mitigation measures, and unfamiliarity with alternative options. We recommend that (a) initiatives directed at changing cat owners’ behaviour consider the multiple factors and competing priorities that inform their decision‐making (particularly cat health and welfare and practicality or cost of interventions); (b) researchers work collaboratively with cat owners and veterinary, cat welfare, and conservation organizations to identify effective solutions, and (c) some degree of accountability for managing problematic hunting behaviour should be promoted as a part of “responsible pet ownership” initiatives. A plain language summary is available for this article.

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“…Containment is a common practice overseas, preventing predation of wildlife, but also for the welfare of the cats themselves (which may have their own predators; American Bird Conservancy 2013). In Tasmania, Australia, a survey of cat owners found that the most commonly reported barrier to containing pet cats was the belief that 'it is natural behaviour for cats to wander so they should be allowed to do so' (McLeod et al 2015). How does this compare with the beliefs of New Zealand cat owners?…”

Section: Business and Marketingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research challenges and conservation implications for urban cat management in New Zealand

Kikillus

Chambers

Farnworth

et al. 2017

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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Abstract. Over the past 20 years, conservation efforts in New Zealand have moved from being concentrated in rural and isolated island locations, where exotic mammalian predators are often controlled, to begin to bring native fauna back to major cities. However, human-wildlife conflicts arise when conservation occurs in close proximity to cities. These are particularly intense when companion animals are involved either as potential predators or prey of high-value conservation animals. Within New Zealand, this conflict is particularly fraught around domestic cats (Felis catus) in the urban environment. Cats in New Zealand are recognised as major introduced predators of native fauna, but they also prey on small introduced predatory mammals. This dynamic causes much conflict between people with different attitudes towards animals; however, as yet, few studies have explored the role(s), either negative or positive, of urban cats in New Zealand. Here, we review current knowledge on domestic cats in urban New Zealand, identify gaps in knowledge and make suggestions for future research, which includes further social science research, citizen science-based research programs, market research, investigation into cat-management legislation, and more in-depth studies of cat diseases and zoonoses. These data are vital for informing the public and improving the management of urban cat populations, including mitigating conservation impacts. Urban ecologists will need to be versatile in the way they design and conduct experiments, exploiting multiple disciplines to both ensure scientific robustness, but also community and government support for uptake of results into management and legislation.

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Born to roam? Surveying cat owners in Tasmania, Australia, to identify the drivers and barriers to cat containment

Cited by 49 publications

References 23 publications

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Hunting behaviour in domestic cats: An exploratory study of risk and responsibility among cat owners

Research challenges and conservation implications for urban cat management in New Zealand

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