Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program

Once complete, the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island will be the largest human inhabited feral cat free area anywhere in the world.

Covering 38,400 hectares, the program is aiming to reduce the remaining feral cat population by more than 95% over the next 12 months, which will see the focus shift to removing the last remaining feral cats to achieve complete eradication.

On this page:

• Success is in sight
• Smart tech and innovation driving success
• Application and refinement of specialised tools
• Strong partnerships and community support
• Breaking down barriers through legislative change
• Recent funding received
• Completing the Dudley Peninsula feral cat eradication program
• Why eradicate feral cats?
• Bandicoot sightings!
• Please report feral cat sightings
• Please help us continue our work
• Thank you to our supporters
• Responsible domestic cat ownership
• Rules for visitors and tourists bringing cats to Kangaroo Island

Success is in sight

Since the program’s inception in 2020, more than 1,700 feral cats have been removed from the landscape, giving biodiversity a chance to recover and delivering tangible benefits for local primary producers. These results highlight what’s possible when cutting-edge technology, strong community partnerships, and dedicated on-ground effort come together.

However, the funding required to complete the program is not yet secured, and without the right level of investment, feral cat numbers could rebound, putting at risk the significant environmental and agricultural gains already achieved. Sustained support is vital to protect native wildlife and primary producers, to complete the Dudley Peninsula feral cat eradication and continue to advance our bold vision of becoming Australia’s first large populated island, free of feral cats.

Over the past winter, the team has been busy trapping and removing 196 feral cats from January to September 2025.

Using our 4G-enabled cameras, we are detecting and closely monitoring feral cat activity across the peninsula. This map shows cameras (blue dots) that have detected at least one feral cat in the last fortnight (no cameras have more than 5 detections). Activity hotspots include inland of Black Point, Dudley and Lesueur Conservation Parks, Ian Road and around the feral cat exclusion fence at Pelican Lagoon.

This map shows where feral cats have been detected across the peninsula and provides near real time to the feral cat eradication team on where to focus control efforts.

Currently, feral cat detections on our cameras are stable, following an intensive 2024 knockdown program that saw detections drop by 67% — the lowest levels recorded in the program’s history.

As the weather warms up, we will be switching our focus to other control tools across the Dudley, as goannas become more active making cage trapping more challenging. We will be using our cameras to identify and track individual feral cats, which provides valuable intel to focus the use of drones, thermal optics and targeting shooting with landholder permission.

Kangaroo Island Landscape Board Senior Project Officer – Pest Animal Operations and Control Technologies Brenton Florance uses drones and thermal imaging to target individual feral cats detected on 4G-enabled cameras across the Dudley Peninsula.

In the coming weeks and as long as weather conditions remain cool, we will continue using feral cat detection dogs in areas where feral cat activity has been detected on cameras or in response to community sightings.

Smart tech and innovation driving success

The application of advanced technology means the program can work cost-effectively at scale, with increased target specificity, higher efficacy, improved humaneness, which is delivering longer-term positive outcomes. This technology allows the program to operate efficiently across vast and complex landscapes, which was not previously possible — with learnings that will directly inform mainland vertebrate pest eradication programs in the future.

The Dudley Peninsula feral cat eradication team can now view whether traps are triggered using mobile phone applications which has increased operational efficiency by more than 70%.

More than 270 4G-connected cameras linked to the eVorta AI platform now provide comprehensive, near real-time coverage across the entire eradication zone. These data are used to track population reductions, guide targeted on-ground operations and will serve as one of the program’s primary proof-of-absence tool.

Encounter Solutions’ Celium trap alert technology connects trap sensors across the whole eradication zone. In 2024 over 1,000 traps (cage and soft-jaw leg-hold) were linked into the network — delivering an unprecedented level of effort. This highly effective technology has improved efficiency, expanded community participation, and raised best-practice animal welfare standards.

Data collected from the field is displayed using ethos Environmental GIS dashboards.

As a result of intensive trapping efforts, camera detections of feral cats have declined sharply, reaching the lowest levels ever recorded in the program’s history.

Behind the scenes, powerful data systems built by Ethos Environmental integrate information from the field and web into a single, easy-to-use visualisation tool built on Esri GIS software. This provides the team with near real-time analytics, progress measures, and proof-of-absence tools — a true game-changer for this complex program.

Application and refinement of specialised tools

Kangaroo Island has an impressive record of successful feral species eradications. Our team of skilled practitioners continue to apply and refine advanced tools and techniques, such as soft-jaw leghold traps, thermal shooting and feral cat detection dogs, to ensure every last feral cat is removed. The use of vehicle-mounted thermal optics, thermal drones and gun scopes has proven highly effective. 

With landholder permission, our marksman uses thermal optics to hunt feral cats sighted on private property.

Strong partnerships and community support

The Island Feral Cat Eradication Network now includes members from over 10 islands across Australia and New Zealand, sharing knowledge and experience.

Community support for the Dudley Peninsula program is at the highest level in Australia, with over 99% of landholders on the Dudley Peninsula either supporting or actively participating.

Sheep farmer and owner of Antechamber Bay Retreats, Andy Gilfillan is one of several landholders who provided access to their properties and provides our team with insights on feral cat behaviour in the landscape.

In the 2024 winter trapping blitz, 35 landholders managed 115 traps over 3,100 trap nights, resulting in the removal of 202 feral cats — 145 from the Dudley Peninsula and 57 from the Pelican Lagoon isthmus. Most landholders continued trapping through winter, showing deep commitment.

While the 2025 blitz was unfunded, we’re seeking support for 2026 to continue this important collaborative work.

In 2024, we also launched a “Feline Hotline”, receiving over 25 reports that helped locate and remove feral cats. 

Breaking down barriers through legislative change

There have been some significant legislative breakthroughs since our last update, which have removed some of the main barriers restricting the use of control tools available for feral cat eradication and control programs. Working with the advocacy body, the Invasive Species Council, and state and local stakeholders, we were successful in driving changes to the Animal Welfare (AW) and Dog and Cat Management Acts.

Kangaroo Island Feral Cat Eradication Team Member and Community Liaison Chris Bald demonstrates the use of soft-jaw leghold traps at a private property on the Dudley Peninsula.

In January 2025, the program was granted Ministerial approval to use soft-jaw leghold traps following amendments to the AW Act. This approval removed the 1km exclusion buffer from a residence provided landholder permission was given. Since this time, we have been contacting and meeting with landholders across the Dudley Peninsula to gain written approval (see attachment – landholder approvals). All 46 landholders contacted so far have given approval. We focused initially on opening up as much area as possible by contacting landholders with the largest individual or group of properties. This has seen more than 70% of the Dudley Peninsula now approved for use of this critical tool. We will continue over the next few months to contact the remaining rural landholders and those peripheral to settlements to maximise coverage. 

Similarly, recent amendments to the Dog and Cat Management Act have granted the approvals necessary for the application of more specialised control tools, such as use of thermal ground shooting and detection dogs within 1km of a residence with landholder approval. This will be critically important during the mop-up phase of the eradication program and the removal of the last remaining individuals. Landholders, which have been contacted to seek soft-jaw leghold permissions have also provided approvals for these control tools and methods to be used.

Recent funding received

Feral cat exclusion fence upgrades

We have been upgrading the feral cat exclusion fence where it intersects with Hog Bay Road. This has involved narrowing the gap and constructing raceways on each side of the road, which will allow wildlife to travel safely through, but at the same time give us the ability to detect, remove or deter feral cats attempting to breach the fence.

To prevent feral cat incursions, we are teaming up with researchers from the University of Newcastle and Bush Heritage Australia to undertake an Australian first audio deterrent trial on the island. Initial trials will determine how effective the audio deterrent device is and how to optimise its performance before installing at the cat exclusion fence in the future. 

Kangaroo Island Feral Cat Eradication team member Josh Mulvaney specialises in feral cat monitoring and detection. In this photo Josh is showcasing the camera used for monitoring and detection at the Kangaroo Island Cat Exclusion Fence to a delegation from the Island Arks Symposium that took place in August 2024. The KILB Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program was showcased to 131 delegates from across the Asia Pacific region. Our team shared their knowledge, experiences, tools and technology with colleagues undertaking feral cat and similar eradication program on 12 islands across the Australia and New Zealand.

We have also been working with a contractor from Goolwa to extend the fence further into Pelican Lagoon and replace this existing intertidal fence with non-corrosive materials that are both environmental sensitive and long lasting in the marine environment. Design drawing has been completed, and we are now in the process of building the first module for deployment. 

Kangaroo Island feral cat eradication detection dog program

Funding has been secured to support the deployment of trained feral cat detection dogs to assist with eradication on the Dudley Peninsula.

Dudley Peninsula Feral Cat Eradication Program leader Paul Jennings has trained a pack of bluetick coonhounds, a breed developed in the United States for their exceptional tracking skills, as cat detection dogs.

As cat densities decline, detection dogs will play a critical role in locating the last individuals and providing proof-of-absence monitoring. A series of landholder demonstrations will be held to showcase how the dogs work safely around livestock and wildlife, helping to build community confidence.

Partnering with Tracks in the Sand

The Kangaroo Island Landscape Board has partnered with Tracks in the Sand, a 100% Aboriginal-owned business specialising in vertebrate pest control, in the mid-north and north of the state, to share traditional knowledge and cutting-edge technology in an effort to deliver more effective landscape-scale feral cat control programs across South Australia.

We have been working with Tracks in the Sand owner Ronald Boland to share the tools and technology used on Kangaroo Island to eradicate feral cats with Nukunu Narungga young people on Country in the Southern Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

The Tradition and Technology pilot program, funded through the South Australian government’s Landscape Priority Fund, shares indigenous culture and knowledge, as well as tools and technologies for invasive species, to build more impactful programs and provide connection, training, and career pathways for Aboriginal people.

Tackling the issue of invasive species cannot be done in isolation; we need to draw on all our knowledge, resources and find ways to work smarter and more efficiently to protect our wildlife, empower our communities and benefit our economy.

Ronald and his team visited Kangaroo Island in May this year to learn about Celium trap alert technology, various trapping techniques, cat detection using AI-enabled cameras, data collection, cat detection dogs and thermal optics.

Our team visited the Flinders Rangers in July to assist Ronald and his team in setting up a Celium hub and traps, as well as installing cameras to detect invasive and native species on Nukunu Country. This program has been a two-way learning experience for both parties; our team has learnt much about culture and traditional land management. Ronald and his team returned to KI in October to help protect Australian sea lions from diseases spread by feral cats. Nukunu and Narungga young people learnt how to set up a monitoring and control program from the beginning, installing and downloading cameras, building Celium hubs and establishing an array of traps in and around the Seal Bay sealion colony.

In November 2025, we returned to the Southern Flinders Ranges on Nukunu country, where Ronald shared his knowledge of traditional cultural practices for tracking and controlling invasive species and protecting native animals.

The Kangaroo Island Landscape Board is proud to support a program that provides career pathways for young Aboriginal people to learn about technology, connect to Country and together, control invasive species that harm our natural environment and economy.

Feral Cat Eradication team members Paul Jennings and Chantelle Geissler joined Ronald Boland as guest speakers at the Landcare Conference in the Gold Coast in late September, sharing their experiences and learnings with land managers across the country. 

The video above captures the experiences shared in October 2025 during the implementation of a feral cat control program at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island to protect the local Australian sealion colony from diseases spread by feral cats.

Seal Bay is home to the third-largest population of Australian sea lions and a crucial sanctuary for this endangered species, primarily found in South Australia and Western Australia.

Implementing conservation actions to prepare and protect Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) in South Australia from the threat of H5 bird flu is jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian Governments.

Completing the Dudley Peninsula feral cat eradication program

Recent evidence-based modelling shows that a single intensive winter knockdown would achieve a 95% reduction in the remaining feral cat population on the Dudley Peninsula.

Improvements in technology and legislation have fundamentally changed how the program is delivered, prompting a detailed review to determine what it would take to achieve eradication and how much it would cost.

Glenn Willson, a Dudley East resident, took part in the 2024 landholder-led trapping blitz spotted and captured feral cats around Moffatt Road on the Dudley Peninsula, with Chantelle Geissler, Project Officer Operations and Control Technology in the Kangaroo Island Feral Cat Eradication program.

Recent evidence-based modelling shows that a single intensive winter knockdown would achieve a 95% reduction in the remaining feral cat population on the Dudley Peninsula.

Improvements in technology and legislation have fundamentally changed how the program is delivered, prompting a detailed review to determine what it would take to achieve eradication and how much it would cost.

The modelling found that the most cost-effective approach is to complete the knockdown and eradication effort over the shortest possible timeframe — ideally within one year. Rapid population reduction enables an earlier transition to mop-up and proof-of-absence phases, reducing overall costs and timelines.

To achieve eradication, up-front funding is required now to deliver a >90% reduction in the remaining population, allowing the program to enter the final phase toward a cat-free Dudley Peninsula.

For more information, please visit:

• Summary Report - Scenario modelling to complete the feral cat eradication program on the Dudley Peninsula
• Technical Report - Scenario modelling to complete the feral cat eradication program on the Dudley Peninsula

Why eradicate feral cats?

Feral cats kill more than 1.5 BILLION native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs and 1.1 BILLION invertebrates each year in Australia,

Feral cats have contributed to the extinction of more than 20 Australian mammals.

Feral cats are the apex predator on Kangaroo Island. They have become the top predator due to the absence of other large predators like foxes on the island. This, combined with the fact that they face little competition for food, has allowed feral cat populations to grow significantly, impacting native species and primary production.

The Kangaroo Island Landscape Board's innovative feral cat eradication program is working to protect vulnerable native species such as the Kangaroo Island dunnart and the southern brown bandicoot from being hunted to extinction.

Six New Holland honeyeaters, small native birds to KI, were found the stomach of feral cat captured by a landholder and dissected by the KILB team during the 2024 winter trapping blitz.

Eradicating feral cats will help protect the Island’s most valuable and endemic species, several of which are already threatened or endangered on mainland Australia, including:

• Kangaroo Island dunnartSminthopsis griseoventer aitkeni also known as Sminthopsis fuliginosis Aitken (Endangered)
• Kangaroo Island echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus (Endangered)
• Southern brown bandicoot Isoodon obesuelus (Endangered)
• Hooded plover (eastern) Thinornis rubricollis rubricollis (Vulnerable)
• Little penguin Eudyptula minor (Vulnerable)

Feral cats are the apex predator on Kangaroo Island and actively contribute to declining populations of native species such as the little penguin.

Feral cats also spread livestock diseases such as Sarcocystis and Toxoplasmosis, which impact primary production and profitability, causing substantial economic losses to the Kangaroo Island sheep industry.

By removing feral cats from Kangaroo Island, we can protect native wildlife, support local producers, and ensure that both biodiversity and agriculture continue to thrive for generations to come.

Bandicoot sightings!

As part of our monitoring of native species across the Dudley Peninsula, the eradication team has been searching for southern brown bandicoots in areas where they have been previously detected, as well as in new sites with suitable habitat.

While bandicoots are common in other parts of Kangaroo Island, they appear to be persisting at low numbers on the Dudley Peninsula. The feral cat eradication program has made several sporadic sightings of bandicoots across the Dudley Peninsula since 2020.

A southern brown bandicoot recently photographed in Dudley Conservation Park.

If you’ve recently seen a bandicoot on the Dudley Peninsula, please email the location and any other details to ki.landscapeboard@sa.gov.au. Your information helps us track the recovery of native species as feral cat numbers decline.

Please report feral cat sightings

We’re asking everyone on the Dudley Peninsula, Pelican Lagoon, and Prospect Hill areas to keep an eye out for feral cats or signs of their activity.

If you’ve seen a cat or found evidence such as tracks, scats, kills, scavenging on roadkill or deceased livestock, please call or text our Feline Hotline on 0459 952 830.

Please report sightings immediately or as soon as possible so our team can follow up quickly. These reports are critically important as we continue to reduce the feral cat population across the Dudley Peninsula.

We also ask community members to let us know if they find a deceased cat or capture or euthanise a feral cat. This helps us match your sightings and photos with our known feral cat catalogue, confirming which individuals have already been removed.

We thank the community for suggesting and supporting the dedicated Feline Hotline — every call helps us take another step toward a cat-free Kangaroo Island.

Please help us continue our work

Help us to remove this invasive predator and secure a future for native species and KI’s livestock industry. Your contribution — no matter how big or small — will help us carry out this vital conservation work. Please donate to us using either of the methods below:

1. Donation to the Feral Cat Eradication Program Fund

Give a tax deductible donation into a fund established with our partners at the Nature Foundation to support the campaign to rid KI of feral cats. Visit the Nature Foundation website for more information.

All donations $2 and over are tax deductible.

You can also donate via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to:

Bank details: BSB: 105900 Account No: 963747240

Name: Nature Foundation

Description: (Your name and) FCEP

Please email info@naturefoundation.org.au to advise you have made an EFT.

2. Sponsor a remote 4G connected camera

Sponsoring a remote 4G camera will give you individualised live access to images of Kangaroo Island wildlife and feral cat detections. As the area cleared of feral cats expands across the Dudley Peninsula, the monitoring effort must also increasing dramatically. To remove this labour intensive but necessary part of the work, the team is now using 4G-connected, solar powered cameras coupled with a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence system, which sends real-time alerts whenever a feral cat walks in front of a camera. The team have estimated that just 25 of these cameras saves 40 days of staff time annually!

For a once-off sponsorship donation, you can help in the fight to remove feral cats from Kangaroo Island by adding a 4G camera to the array required as the feral cat-free area expands. As part of your sponsorship, you will also receive unique, real time access to photos of Kangaroo Island wildlife whenever you want!

To be able to monitor all 384 km² of the Dudley Peninsula effectively, 200 are required. Click here for more information on our partner Nature Foundations donation page.

Thank you for your support!

Thank you to our supporters

This program could not occur without the support of our many generous partners, funders, and the Kangaroo Island community.

The program is supported by the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, through funding from the Australian Government, the Government of South Australia, the Ian Potter Foundation, Purryburry Trust, Nature Foundation South Australia, Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Fouress Foundation, University of Adelaide, Atkinson Livestock, Patagonia Foundation, eVorta, and other public donations.

The Department for Environment and Water, Kangaroo Island Council, and Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) provide in-kind support to the program.

Together, we’re on track to make Kangaroo Island feral cat-free — protecting our wildlife, supporting our farmers, and safeguarding our future.

We are thankful for the support received for this program from the Penneshaw Progress Association, Kangaroo Island Council, Agriculture Kangaroo Island, National Parks and Wildlife SA, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance, Kangaroo Island Business and Brand Alliance, Antechamber Bay Action Group and Dudley Peninsula primary producers, business owners and community members. We are also grateful to our funders: the Australian Government, Government of South Australia, Ian Potter Foundation and Purryburry Trust.

Responsible (domestic) cat ownership

Did you know that Kangaroo Island has the strictest laws relating to domestic cat ownership in Australia?

Since 2007 the KI Council has implemented strict by-laws governing the ownership of domestic cats. Cats on Kangaroo Island must be:

• registered
• micro-chipped
• de-sexed*
• contained to your premises (House) unless in a contained run
• restricted to no more than two cats per premises*.

A full version of the by-laws can be downloaded here.

*Registered cat breeders can be given permission from the Council to own more cats. Registration must be made with the Council on an annual basis. Registered catteries are also exempt.

The Kangaroo Island Landscape Board encourages responsible domestic cat ownership. Residents and visitors to the island should always be aware of the rules for containment of domestic cats to protect Kangaroo Island wildlife and primary production industry.

Rules for visitors and tourists bringing cats to Kangaroo Island

Visitors and tourists are reminded that a feral cat eradication program on Dudley Peninsula is underway.

There are strict rules for brining domestic cats to Kangaroo Island.

Under the rules and regulations of the Kangaroo Island Council’s Cats By-Law 2024:

• An un-spayed cat that is not registered as a breeding cat can not be brought to Kangaroo Island
• A person must not bring a desexed cat that is not registered with the Council onto Kangaroo Island unless that person has notified the Council:
  • either before the cat is brought onto Kangaroo Island, or
  • within 12 hours of the cat being brought onto Kangaroo Island.
    
• Visitors must inform Council of the premises at which the cat will be kept for so long as it remains on Kangaroo Island.