Graziers air feral cats concerns

Australians seem to be facing stark reality. It's sad so many in the United States are apologists for a destructive alien animal.

Graziers in remote Queensland say they are concerned about the impact of feral cats on the unique outback environment.

The Georgina-Diamantina Catchment Committee has identified feral animals as one of the issues it will be focusing on in the year ahead.

Bob Young from Brighton Downs, south-west of Winton, says feral cats are natural predators and can do significant damage to wildlife.

"Quite often the fruits of their labour ... small birds, small lizards and by the time they dispose of those, there's not much left as evidence that they've been around," he said.

"You'll see feral cats just about anywhere ... I've heard of them being in the Simpson Desert, the Kimberley, the Barkly Tablelands ... it's just going to knock a lot of wildlife about.

"They're a silent killer, they're a natural born predator ... they work at night, so a lot of the time they're not seen except by roo shooters or people travelling at night. It's probably a bit like a cancer ... it's probably sneaking up on us and at some stage we'll find that certain species have already disappeared and a lot of that I think will be because of the cats."