The significance of social factors in the planning and implementation of feral cat management programs

Abstract

Feral cat management is the subject of debate in many countries due to conflicting ecological, ethical, economic, and social reasons. Perceptions and attitudes around the various possible feral cat management methods influence socially and politically acceptable management. While most of the recent research conducted on feral cat management has taken technical aspects into account, there is considerably less emphasis on how the social aspects may influence success. This thesis aims to compare global differences in feral cat management approaches, and to improve the understanding of how social factors influence attitudes around different feral cat management methods. The first objective was to investigate global attitudes towards feral cats by analysing international scientific literature around feral cat management with a focus on social perspectives. The literature review (chapter 2) presents global comparisons by providing insight into how feral cats are perceived by stakeholders in various countries, and what social factors influence these perceptions worldwide. The second objective of this thesis focused on analysing public attitudes towards feral cats and their management in both a regional and international context and determined the countries and groups that contributed greatly to the social media narrative around feral cats. In this portion of the study, Twitter data was used to distinguish the language used by differing groups in various countries to portray attitudes towards feral cats, as detailed in chapter 3. The final objective focused on determining the social factors that influence public attitudes and perceptions of methods used in feral cat management, and the social acceptability of these methods. A landholder questionnaire was used to assess the acceptance of several feral cat management methods on properties on Kangaroo Island, South Australia and near to the Grampians National Park region of western Victoria. It was found that gender, land use, previous knowledge of feral cat management methods, and location influenced the likelihood of participants to accept and use various feral cat management methods on their properties, as covered over chapters 4 and 5. This study highlights the importance of communication and information sharing in feral cat management, including knowledge about control tools, and demonstrates that education about feral cat impacts can increase support for management. It further suggests that feral cat management in any locality needs to consider the potential for regional differences that might stem from variations in culture and environment=. Feral cat management in any space requires investigation into the demographic and social factors that influence levels of support for particular interventions in an area, and that includes appealing to the public and engaging with the local community by interacting with them directly and educating while spreading awareness.