A feral cat kills a Newell’s Shearwater on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, photograph by André Raine

First a disclaimer.  I have lived with domestic cats nearly all my life.  The current pair have completed a decade; I am approaching my ninth.  So, it can be said we are growing old together, mostly companionably.  An aphorism I occasionally use is “A house is not a home without a cat”.  I guess dog lovers might say much the same about their pets.

But not all cats are pets, as are my two and all those who came (and sadly left) before them.  Some can be neglected, abandoned, or left to roam and become lost.  They can then be called strays.  By one definition, a stray cat is one which once lived indoors and was socialized to people at some point in its life, but has left or lost its home, or was abandoned, and no longer has regular human contact.  Of course, not all these discarded or wandering moggies have been neutered, so as is normal, they will find a mate and the females will give birth to kittens.  Without human contact from a young age the kittens will not become socialized and will grow to be wild animals.  These are described as feral cats, that will in turn breed, leading to populations that can become of serious conservation concern, especially on islands with breeding seabirds.  As a retired marine ornithologist who has worked on seabird islands my whole career, I have no love for feral cats, as I do for my current pair Annabelle and Oliver at home.  I do not see this as a dichotomy.

I started my seabird career in 1971 on 220-ha Dassen Island, off South Africa’s Western Province where I studied the now Critically Endangered African Penguin Spheniscus demersus, along with a suite of cormorants, two gulls and a pelican.  The island supported feral cats that I showed killed penguin and cornorant chicks and migratory terns.  My control efforts taking potshots with a .22 caliber rifle likely did little to the population and it took many more years before the cats were eradicated by a more concerted hunting effort.

 
A feral cat on Marion Island, photograph by Valdon Smith

Jump forward a decade or so and I became peripherally involved with the successful cat eradication programme on sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  At 32 000 ha and with inhospitable terrain and mostly poor weather, it took some years before the cats were finally removed,  using a variety of techniques,  Indeed, for many years, Marion was the largest island from which feral cats had been eliminated, only recently pipped by now cat-free Dirk Hartog Island off Western Australia – at 63 000 ha nearly twice as large as South Africa’s Marion Island.

One thing Dassen, Marion and Dirk Hartog have in common is that they have no permanent human populations and are managed as nature reserves where introduced mammals are not welcome.  The situation becomes more complex on islands where feral cats coexist with permanent human populations, of whom some inhabitants will be cat lovers and keep them as cherished pets.  For some, their affection for their pets extends to the feral animals and they may place food, such as opened cans of tuna, in localities where stray and wild cats congregate, and may even erect feeding stations on poles as advertised for sale online, above the reach of dogs and other predators.  With the bonus of free food, the feral cats will breed copiously; their offspring will be able to disperse to areas where they come into contact with native fauna, including seabirds.  Some advocates support TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release/Return) programmes for feral cat communities.  Unfortunately, there seems to be no good evidence these will lead to an overall reduction in the numbers of feral cats present, nor in their depredations of the local fauna.

Black Petrel chick on Great Barrier Island by Maureen Bennetts of Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for ACAP, after a photograph by ‘Biz’ Bell

In 2017 while in New Zealand for an ACAP meeting I flew to Great Barrier Island to undertake a three-day hike so as to visit the site of a breeding population of ACAP-listed and Vulnerable Black Petrels Procellaria parkinsoni.  Feral cats are present on the island, and indeed, my host on arrival told me that he put out food for two that regularly came to his back door.  He did not appear to be overly concerned with (or that knowledgeable of?) the environmental damage feral cats are causing over much of New Zealand.  But since then there is the intention to make 28 000-ha Great Barrier cat (and rat) free.  Here’s hoping!

The problem: a feral cat gets a handout of cans of tuna

The latest positive news come from “The Big Island” (Hawaii) in the North Pacific, with the Hawaiʻi County Council passing Bill 51 that prohibits the feeding of feral and stray animals such as cats, pigs, goats, and chickens on all County-owned or managed properties.  “Bill 51 focuses on public spaces, including County parks, beaches, and facilities where populations of introduced species often congregate due to people feeding them and other inviting conditions”. The bill, assigned as Ordinance No. 25-63, will take effect from 01 January 2026.

The new ordinance should give some increased protection to burrow-nesting seabirds on the island, notably the Endangered Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis and Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli, both endemic to the inhabited Hawaiian Islands.

“The issue of feral cat management is especially pressing in Hawai‘i, because outdoor cats are known predators of many imperiled Hawaiian bird species. They have also significantly contributed to the decline of the Nēnē [Hawaiian Goose Branta sandvicensis – Near Threatened] through exposure to toxoplasmosis, an infectious disease that affects a wide variety of species, including the Hawaiian Monk Seal, other wildlife, domestic animals, and people.  Feeding not only supports feral cats but also other invasive animals, including rats and pigs, that damage park infrastructure and pose serious risks to public health.  Cutting off food sources on County lands is essential to reducing feral populations and safeguarding wildlife.”

However, there is clearly opposition to the Bill, with for example the Alley Cat Allies website considering it “cruel”.  It only passed after “after fierce debate and passionate testimony from the public and council members.”.  One does wonder if it will be properly enforced, as those determined to feed stray and feral cats in public places may well continue to do so, likely surreptitiously.  Threatened endemic seabirds breed on other Hawaiian islands inhabited by people and cats (with Kauai being the main stronghold for the Newell’s Shearwater) – and landowners are not restricted to feeding cats on their private properties.

It seems a major mind change is required before Hawaii’s threatened sea and landbirds can be considered safe from feral cats.  A start would be continuing to point out that a feral cat and a pet cat are really two different animals, despite them looking alike and belonging to the same species.

Read more on the Hawaii bill here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 15 September 2025

International cooperation: a translocated Black-footed Albatross chick on Mexico’s Guadalupe Island

The 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report has been produced by a coalition of leading science and conservation organizations including  the American Bird Conservancy, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ducks Unlimited and National Audubon Society.  It reveals continued widespread declines in American bird populations across all mainland and marine habitats, with 229 species requiring urgent conservation action.  Information on seabirds shows that American seabird populations are in steep decline, with Hawaii and Alaska populations down between 55% and 95% in recent decades.  Threats causing declines identified include predation of seabirds and their eggs by invasive nonnative species, bycatch in fisheries, contaminants such as plastics pollution, habitat loss, and infectious diseases.

A Laysan Albatross incubates its egg in Hawaii’s James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, photographs from Pacific Rim Conservation

However, the seabird section does report more positive news for two North Pacific albatrosses as shown by the following extract:

“One promising strategy for protecting seabird populations from sea-level rise and storm-surge events has been translocation—moving seabird breeding colonies to higher ground.

A project in Hawaii—conducted by the nonprofit group Pacific Rim Conservation, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—moved seabirds from low-lying areas in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Tern Island, and French Frigate Shoals to high-island habitat at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu.  The translocation area on the refuge included a mammal predator exclusion fence, so the newly moved seabirds don’t fall victim to non-native predators such as rats and mongoose.  Today there are four translocated species nesting on the refuge—Laysan and Black-footed Albatross, as well as Bonin Petrel and Tristram’s Storm-Petrel.

Another seabird translocation project is offering a refuge from rising seas for Black-footed Albatross populations in the eastern Pacific Ocean. A partnership between government agencies and nonprofit groups of the United States and Mexico is moving albatross eggs and chicks from the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico. The project began in 2021, and by 2024 the first chicks that fledged from Guadalupe returned to the island as 2- and 3-year-olds—marking early success in the effort to establish an albatross colony on higher breeding grounds.

According to the Seabird Restoration Database, there have been 851 seabird translocation and social attraction projects worldwide, with a very high success rate—76% of seabird species showed a positive response to these efforts. About 40% of these projects were conducted in U.S. islands and coastal areas, more than any other country. Given the steep threats facing seabirds, more translocation efforts are needed, and the high success rate shows that these efforts are a sound investment in securing seabird populations for the future.”

ACAP Latest News has been following the albatross (and other) translocation efforts led by Pacific Rim Conservation; access previous articles from here.

Download the full report and read more here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 13 September 2025

“Would you like to be a part of a successful ecosystem recovery project?  Join us on a unique journey to Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary, where wildlife comes first.”

The State of Hawai'i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is seeking Habitat Restoration Volunteers for work at Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  The atoll is part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and provides important habitat for wildlife, including Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed P. nigripes Albatrosses (both ACAP listed) and Christmas Shearwaters Puffinus nativitatus.

“DLNR is committed to eradicating non-native and invasive plant species such as Golden Crown-beard Verbesina encelioides from the atoll.  Invasive plants are a significant management concern because they displace native plants, which are necessary for wildlife habitat and promote dune stability.  This position is a rare opportunity to protect and recover a unique ecosystem while living in a remote wildlife sanctuary.”

For more information, check out the full advert from the Kure Atoll Conservancy.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 11 September 2025

 Arctic Fulmar

Susanne Kühn (Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, The Netherlands) and colleagues have produced an annual report in their series on plastic pollution in beach-wrecked Arctic Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis from The Netherlands.

“In 2024, we received 37 birds from Dutch beaches, 32 of which still had an intact stomach. Because the annual number of birds can vary, we mainly look at the past 5-year period (2020–2024).  From that period, 228 fulmars were available, of which 92% had plastic in their stomach. On average, these birds had ingested 24 pieces of plastic with an average weight of 0.24 grams of plastic per bird.  53% of the animals had more plastic in their stomach than the desired threshold value of 0.1 grams.  The EU’s long-term goal is that no more than 10% of birds exceed this threshold. According to our calculations, this goal could be reached in 2077.”

Reference:

Kühn, S., Meijboom, A., Bittner, O. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2025.  Fulmar Litter Monitoring in the Netherlands –Update 2024.  Wageningen Marine Research Report C033/25 and RWS Centrale Informatievoorziening Report.  Den Helder, The Netherlands.  47 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 10 September 2025