(CNS): Residents on Little Cayman are urging the government to reverse its decision to halt the controversial but necessary feral cat cull on the island because the programme has had a significant positive impact. The Department of Environment staff conducting the cull were using what they consider the most humane method to control the wild cat population.
More than a dozen residents have written to Environment Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks asking her to lift the hold on shooting the cats where they are trapped because they say they have seen the benefits to the populations of Sister Islands rock iguanas and nesting red-footed booby birds.
“Going ahead with an eradication now will require far less cats to be euthanised in the long run. And how wonderful it is to see the recovery of wildlife now that the cats are coming under control,” one resident said about the cull.
People on the island campaigning to allow DoE staff to continue the cull told CNS that if the feral cat population is allowed to bounce back, the work so far will be wasted, and the threats to native species will return.
The culling method recently adopted by the DoE, as directed by the National Conservation Council, was to shoot the feral animals where they are trapped, which is instantaneous, rather than adding to their trauma by transporting them to a clinic, where a vet then puts the animals to death.
However, independent opposition MP Chris Saunders recently made another attempt to amend the National Conservation Act, this time including a clause that would have redefined the term “native species” to include feral cats, in law if not in fact, thereby protecting them from any type of cull.
Although the government could simply have rejected the bill, Ebanks-Wilks decided to prevent the DoE from using what their painstaking research had revealed was the most humane way of dispatching the feral animals.
Although the NCFC has claimed it would make decisions that were transparent and based on factual evidence, this particular decision, as announced in parliament earlier this month, was not. Rather, it ignored the research conducted by its own experts at the DoE.
However, DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie has confirmed that the cull is currently continuing using other methods, as outlined in the procedures for controlling cats in environmentally sensitive areas. In a short statement to the Compass, she said the ban applies only to shooting the cats, and the department continues to control them in such areas is necessary.
“The DoE’s understanding is that we have been directed to cease shooting trapped cats at the point of capture but that we are able to continue utilising other forms of euthanasia outlined in the updated Procedures for Controlling Feral Cats in Environmentally Sensitive areas approved by the NCC in 2025,” she said.
The cull has wide support from most residents on Little Cayman, who are all keen to ensure that the feral cats are treated as humanely as possible but are more aware than most of the devastating impact the cats have had over the years on the island’s most sensitive flora and fauna. They are urging the government to listen to their concerns, given that they live with the situation every day.
“As a resident of Little Cayman, I have seen firsthand the improvement in the number of young Sister Island Rock Iguanas and the benefit to our nesting seabirds since the removals began,” one resident wrote in her letter to the minister.
“My letter outlines why I, along with many residents here, believe the DoE’s planned process is both the most effective and the most humane option, and why continued delay is likely to result in more cats needing to be removed in the long run.”
As one of the letter writers noted, feral cats “lead miserable lives”. As the DoE has stated many times, they live in a state of starvation and distress, suffering from diseases and severe injuries.
“It is wrong to allow them to continue to live this horrible life, all the while killing our endemic species,” another resident said, urging the government to reverse the decision on the more humane approach.
In a statement on its website, the DoE has once again detailed the cull and explained why such an unpleasant programme is essential and part of its remit.
The department said its “work to control all alien invasive species, including feral cats in the Sister Islands, is firmly based on internationally approved protocols and the best available scientific evidence to support the survival and conservation of our native species.
“All work is carried out in accordance with international best practice and evidence for both human and animal welfare. It is also in compliance with all local legislation and all court judgements and directives.”
The DoE and the NCC remain strong advocates for the preservation of native habitats and species, and the need to preserve adequate wild spaces to help ensure their survival. However, they have been constrained by successive administrations.
“We can only enforce what the community and the government are willing to enshrine and uphold in legislation,” the department stated. “There is a need for dedicated alien invasive species management and a long-term biosecurity plan. We have uncontrolled habitat loss from unfettered development. Both threats are urgent, complicated and have a long history of debate.
“But while these debates continue, many of our native species are getting closer to local and global extinction,” DoE officials warned, adding that they will still do what they can to protect the environment. They urged the public to consider the actual facts presented in the numerous publications they have authored about the cull.
“The science is robust and outcomes are clear: roaming/feral cats are a major driver of biodiversity loss in our islands, and especially in the Sister Islands where biodiversity is generally more abundant. The DoE stands behind the need for this critical work and procedures established to ensure the highest standards of humane outcomes at all times,” the statement read.