Farmers are being asked to help combat the "formidable challenge" of feral cats.
Under a new state-wide Victorian Cat Management Strategy, landowners will play a vital role in controlling their numbers.
The strategy, currently in draft form, was open to feedback from stakeholders, including farmers and landowners, until Friday, April 26.
As it stands, the strategy recognised the urgent need to address what policy makers described as the "significant threat feral cats pose to Victoria's biodiversity".
"Feral cats, being unowned, unsocialised, and independent from human care have established themselves as a formidable challenge to the survival of the state's native wildlife," the strategy reads.
Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said the key areas of focus within the draft strategy to control cats included responsible cat ownership, desexing, urban cat population control, feral cat management, collaboration, community engagement, and education.
"This strategy will help to safeguard our native wildlife, improve cat welfare and reduce nuisance and disease concerns," she said.
The document highlighted how in order to protect Victoria's vulnerable biodiversity and improve the survival chances of its threatened species, feral cats were declared an "established pest animal" on specified Crown (public) land under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
Under this act, public land managers were responsible for controlling feral cats on public land through a range of methods, including cage traps, ground shooting, fencing and baiting.
The soon-to-be-completed strategy sought to implement and monitor more humane and effective feral cat control programs in this way.
It ensured that these methods follow specific procedures, approvals, or codes of practice, to ensure ethical and effective feral cat management.
Predation by feral cats was recognised as a potentially threatening process under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 with 43 species listed as threatened and at risk of extinction because of feral cat predation.
Despite this threat to native wildlife, the draft strategy noted that eradicating feral cats from the Australian mainland is "currently unfeasible".
"Therefore, the focus is on protecting the most susceptible native wildlife," it reads
Beyond predation, feral cats also impact ecosystems through competition, behaviour changes in native species, and disease transmission to animals, including livestock and humans.
Effective feral cat management in Victoria required well-planned, coordinated, monitored, and sustained efforts at a landscape scale, according to the new strategy.
The strategy also outlined how Victoria will collaborate with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions to improve feral cat management through knowledge sharing.
Readers could make a submission on the new strategy here.
