Tasmania's cat management legislation slammed as a failure

That's according to former Tasmanian Quality Meats quality assurance manager Chris Cocker.

Mr Cocker said he was still seeing evidence of sarcocystis, which saw carcasses downgraded, trimmed or condemned.

"It seems to around the small towns, around Oatlands, around Bothwell, where there seems to be a higher prevalence," Mr Cocker said.

"The legislation looks good on paper, but, out in the field, it does nothing."

Mr Cocker said cat borne diseases, such as sarcocystis and toxoplasmosis, were still a big issue.

"It's just not good enough," he said.

"They just haven't got it right - they have got a heap of bureaucrats, sitting in ivory towers, writing reports and spending a million dollars.

"If they had spent half of what they spent on the reports, and put cat traps out, they would have done twice as good."

Read more:

Primary Industries Minister Guy Barnett said late last year Tasmania's management arrangements had been strengthened with the passing of the Cat Management Amendment Bill 2019.

"The passing of the Bill confirms strong support for the measures put forward by the government," Mr Barnett said.

"Our bill focussed on getting the balance right, and it recognised that cats, if not cared for in a responsible manner, can have serious impacts on the community, agriculture and wildlife.

"Cat management is a shared responsibility and our focus is on education and creating community awareness of responsible cat management."

Amendments to the act allowed all landowners involved in primary production to trap or humanely euthanise a cat found on their property.

Mr Barnett said a landowner should make an attempt to return the cat to its owner, or take it to a management facility, if it appeared to be clearly owned by somebody.

He said while the government encouraged the confinement of cats to a residential property, it would not make it a compulsory requirement.

The criticisms of the legislation were echoed by the man who set up the state's first feral cat trapping program, Upper Meander Catchment Landcare Group's Kevin Knowles.

He described the current system as "dreadful."

It was good the definition of feral cats, and the number of people who could euthanize them, had been expanded.

"But if you are not a wool producer, you have to take it to a cat management facility.

"There are three facilties in Tasmania they are all independent, so they are basically charities, and one is not euthanising cats.

"A lot of the facilities are full."

Mr Knowles said the legislation did not go far enough.

"The state government has put it all on local government to implement cat management plans - so there is no statewide plan," he said.

"The councils won't do it, because they have no funds and they can't charge registration fees - so nothing is being done."

He said he would have liked to have seen legislation to enforce the keeping of cats on an owners property.

"The state government did a survey of 1000 people - they haven't released it yet - but I do know 83 per cent of Tasmanians want to see cats kept on the owners property.

"That would be treating cats the same as dogs."

He said the group's members were still putting out traps, "but it's just hopeless - there's a never ending supply of cats."

The state government's response was in stark contrast to federal authorities, who had just released the results of an inquiry into feral and domestic cats.

"The federal government is great, they want to implement all this stuff, but if we don't have the right legislation in the state, we can't do it," Mr Knowles said.

Bugetary considerations had driven the process, with the government not prepared to spend the money required, he said.

Hagley sheep producer, Rowan Clark, Rupertswood Farm, said he'd been setting traps for about eight years.

"We are consistently getting cats, all year around," Mr Clark said.

"It's only 20 minutes to the centre of Launceston here, and there's lots of good hedgerows for them to live in."

But he said biological control was the only way feral cats would be contained.

"Until they get a coronavirus for cats, I don't think they will ever really control them," he said.

Mr Rowan said it had gone further than just keeping cats confined to the owner's property.

"I think we have a feral population now - they are repopulating themselves.

"I am getting pregnant females quite a lot of the time - they are going into the traps to get a cheap feed.

"Some have been wild, all their lives, while others are gradually working their way to being a wild animal."

There could also be dumping of cats, as the property was on a major highway.

Mr Rowan said the property had a bad run with vibriosis and toxoplasmosis, which caused abortions

"We will lamb 2000 ewes this year on 600 acres - if you get a problem like that, it very quickly gets through the flock.

"I spend a lot of time,with the ewes, at lambing ,and it's not a problem to see a couple of cats every day," Mr Rowan said.

"We had a lot of half-formed foetuses aborted in the twins - it's probably between 20-30 per cent, at least.

"I think we were 25 per cent down on expected marking percentages, this year.

"It's a constant battle, against the cats."

And the Local Government Association of Tasmania said the effective management and control of cats was beyond the capacity of most of the state's councils.

Chief executive Dion Lester said local government had been advocating for improvements to the Cat Management Act since 2007.

"While local government supports the recent changes to the Cat Management Act 2009 as they improve the overall functioning of the Act, concerns remain regarding roles and responsibilities, and the potential increases in administration and compliance costs," Mr Lester said.

"To support the recent changes, local government has been working with the Department of Primary Industry, Parks, Water and Environment on the delivery of the Tasmanian Cat Management Plan, the first comprehensive state-wide approach to cat management in Tasmania."