The Challenge

Australia has the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world.
Since European settlement in 1788, more than 10 percent of mammal species have disappeared due to predation by introduced species, such as feral cats and foxes, and habitat degradation. More than 1,700 species are currently facing extinction. Inaction or ‘business as usual’ for conservation will lead to additional extinctions.
To reverse this decline we have developed a new model for conservation in which we:

• Purchase or acquire land through partnerships with Indigenous groups, governments and private landholders; and
• Implement practical land management (feral animal control and fire management) which is informed by world-class science.

Feral cats are the single greatest threat to wildlife, killing millions of native animals each day.
Conservative estimates put the number of feral cats across Australia at three million. Our strategy to reduce the impact of feral cats includes:

• Establishing a national network of massive, fenced feral cat-free havens;
• Developing effective strategies to reduce the impact of these feral predators beyond the fence; and
• Partnering with CSIRO to investigate cutting-edge, gene-drive technology to develop a long-term solution for controlling feral cats across the continent.

Australia’s terrestrial biodiversity has also diminished due to the impact of habitat degradation through large-scale land clearing, bad fire management practices and the impact of feral herbivores and weeds. The scale of our land management activities are unprecedented in Australia. We conduct the biggest non-government fire management program in the country in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia.