National registration of the Curiosity® bait for feral cats will support efforts to protect and recover Australia’s remarkable native wildlife.
The Curiosity® bait for feral cats is a small sausage with a hard plastic pellet containing a humane toxin (para-aminopropiophenone, or PAPP). The bait has been designed to minimise the risk to native animals and a hard shell limits access to the pellet by animals other than cats.
Registration of this product follows a rigorous assessment process by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to ensure the new bait is safe to use in accordance with the label instructions.
The APVMA has assessed the safety and efficacy of the product, and ensured the risks to native animals, the environment, and the public are minimised.
Strict conditions set out by the label include training requirements for end users, which ensure that there is extremely low risk to the public and their pets.
Feral cats are a significant threat to our native wildlife and the new bait is a game changer for feral cat control in Australia.
Since European arrival, feral cats have been implicated in the extinction of more than 20 mammal species and threaten a further 124 nationally listed species.
The Australian Government recognised the need for a new humane and effective feral cat control tool and has invested more than $5 million in the development of Curiosity®.
The registration recognises that Curiosity® is a toxin and baits will only be sold to, and used by, appropriately trained and authorised persons in accordance with state regulations.
The baits will also offer another lifeline to our native wildlife in bushfire impacted areas.
Cats are very effective predators following fires so this humane and effective control tool will boost our ability to actively tackle the threat across our environment.
More information about the Curiosity® bait for feral cats can be found at https://environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/feral-animals-australia/feral-cats
