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Published: Friday, 25 May 2018 14:06
An innovative trial using expertly trained dogs to detect feral cats in a Wheatbelt reserve could help protect threatened species, such as numbats and woylies. In stage one of the trial this month, three dogs - a Malinois, a Terrier cross and a Labrador cross - and their handlers are working in Tutanning Nature Reserve, near Pingelly, to detect the presence of feral cats. Stage two, scheduled for 2019, will determine their effectiveness, in comparison with other control techniques and test combining techniques, to win the fight against feral cats. The dogs are trained to not attack the cats or native animals. Tutanning Nature Reserve is home to several threatened species that are vulnerable to feral cat predation, including numbats, woylies, chuditch and red-tailed phascogales.…