October 2026 - Community update: Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program

The Kangaroo Island Landscape Board sincerely thanks landholders, residents and program supporters for your help throughout this year’s intensive feral cat knockdown program. We appreciate your cooperation in allowing access and working with our team, especially during the busy winter period and lambing season.
We understand the trust involved in welcoming us onto your properties and we will never take that trust for granted. Our team follow strict biosecurity protocols as we move between properties and work respectfully around farming operations, livestock and infrastructure.

Funding secured to finish the Dudley Peninsula program

As a result of an intensive Dudley wide knockdown this year our monitoring cameras are recording the lowest rate of feral cat detections since the Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program began in 2020. The team is now targeting individual cats, using camera images and community reports to track their movements and to guide trapping and specialist control work. Recent operations have successfully linked sightings of individual cats with subsequent captures.
Continued intensive control effort remains essential to locate the cats still present and prevent the population from rebuilding. Removing the last remaining individuals will be the hardest, but with recent advances in technology, specialist tools and staff we feel confident of success.

Come join our team

We are now gearing up for the next phase of the eradication program towards a feral cat free Dudley Peninsula. We are looking for new team members to help us finish the job. 
We’re recruiting Field Officers (OPS3) and Senior Field Officers (TGO2) to join our specialist feral cat eradication team.
Be part of a team combining practical field skills with innovative technology to achieve lasting protection for native wildlife. Both roles offer a 10 days on, four days off roster, with penalty rates in addition to base salary.
Does this sound like a role for you? Contact Paul Jennings Program Leader - Feral Cat Eradication, on 0407 555 606 or email paul.jennings@sa.gov.au for more information.
Please share these opportunities with anyone interested in outdoor work with a clear conservation purpose.
To learn more and apply for the Field Officer (OPS3) positions click here.
To learn more and apply for the Senior Field Officer (TGO2) click here.

Camera sightings reach lowest rate in program’s history

As a result of an intensive Dudley wide knockdown this year our monitoring cameras are recording the lowest rate of feral cat detections since the Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program began in 2020.

The team is now targeting individual cats, using camera images and community reports to track their movements and to guide trapping and specialist control work. Recent operations have successfully linked sightings of individual cats with subsequent captures.
Continued intensive control effort remains essential to locate the cats still present and prevent the population from rebuilding. Removing the last remaining individuals will be the hardest, but with recent advances in technology, specialist tools and staff we feel confident of success.

Where we are up to in the eradication program

Our goal is to remove every feral cat from Dudley Peninsula. Three parts of the program work together:

1. Knockdown: Intensive trapping across the landscape to reduce the feral cat population faster than it can rebuild through breeding. >90% of the population needs to be removed during this stage.
2. Mop-up: Targeted work using specialist techniques, such as soft jaw leghold traps, detector dogs and thermal shooting. to find and remove individual cats remaining after knockdown,
3. Proof of Absence Monitoring: Multiple methods will be used to detect any remaining feral cats and give us the confidence to declare eradication.

As cat numbers fall, finding each remaining animal takes increasingly focused effort. Monitoring using multiple methods will continue for 12 to 18 months.

Trapping as the weather warms

As we move into the summer period, our cage trap network is mostly shut down with increased efforts going into deploying double lure (DL) cage traps and soft-jaw leghold traps. These use scent lures, such as cat urine to attract feral cats while reducing off-target captures of native animals such as goannas and brushtail possums. Traditional cages using food lures are difficult to maintain during this summer period due to increased goanna activity.
Our team are out on the Dudley Peninsula everyday checking triggered traps. All traps are connected to our Celium monitoring network, which alerts the team in near real time when a trap is triggered. As such, the team can prioritise checking triggered traps resulting in efficiencies and better animal welfare outcomes as animals are released sooner. Every Monday and Tuesday, our team are out reluring all traps with fresh scent to lure the feral cats into the traps.

New tools and technology

We are working with technology partners, Encounter Solutions Ltd, to develop automated cage traps. The prototypes are designed to open and close remotely on a timer system and have the ability to dispense lure at the back of the trap.
This would allow cages to close during warmer daytime hours when goannas are active and reopen in the evening. The aim is to reduce accidental captures of native wildlife and the number of trips needed to service traps.
The first prototypes are due to arrive on island in the next few weeks to undergo intensive field testing. Following this, we will be looking to roll these traps out extensively across the Dudley Peninsula to replace our existing network of traps in the new year. The efficiencies gained through this technology will significantly increase the efficiency of the program and provide a solution for effectively controlling or eradicating feral cats from even larger areas.

Strengthening the cat exclusion fence

Preventing cats from moving onto Dudley Peninsula is essential to protecting the progress already made.
At the Hog Bay Road crossing, fenced corridors guide approaching cats towards areas where thermal cameras can detect them and activate sound deterrents. Work is also underway to develop these corridors into traps.
The team has also trialled a floating fence supported by pontoons in the intertidal zone. It rises with the tide and rests on the seabed at low water. Testing has included strong winds and storm surges, helping assess a design intended to prevent cats bypassing the fence while reducing its impact on the marine environment.

Cat owners, please keep cats contained

As the knockdown continues, we kindly ask all domestic cat owners on Dudley Peninsula to continue to follow KI Council by laws and keep their cats contained on their properties.
Roaming pet cats may be accidentally caught during control operations. Keeping your cat safely contained helps protect your pet and native wildlife, while supporting the eradication effort.

Increase in native wildlife on cameras

As the spring weather continues, our cameras and community members are observing an increase in ground dwelling, water and woodland birds including bush stone-curlews. 
These observations are encouraging, and we welcome further report of native wildlife across the Dudley Peninsula. Yours sightings complement our camera monitoring and help us build a clearer picture of changes in wildlife activity as the eradication program continues.

Thank you Murray!

We thank Murray Schofield for his contribution to the program. Murray’s practical trapping expertise and development of the Double Lure (DL) trap have helped the team target feral cats while reducing accidental captures of native wildlife.
His ingenuity and willingness to find new solutions have strengthened the program. After two and half 
years of service, Murray is returning to his hometown of Cooma, NSW to pursue another passion of his, regenerative farming. We thank Murray for his dedication and wish him all the best for the future.

Every sighting matters

Please continue to report sightings of feral cats, tracks or scat to the Feline Hotline on 0459 952 830. Leave a message if the team cannot answer straight away.
We thank you for your continued trust and practical support. Your cooperation is helping us work towards a feral cat free Dudley Peninsula and lasting protection for its wildlife and primary production.