Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Introduced and invasive species · Australia · date not stated

Macquarie Island cat eradication and rabbit boom

Nature's voice · report
After the cats were removed, my rabbits increased, and about 40% of my vegetation changed.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record See the gaps

Cats were removed from Macquarie Island, and the rabbit population then increased. A 2009 paper recorded that about 40% of the island's vegetation changed and that the extra cost exceeded A$24 million.

about 40%Island vegetation changed after cat removal
As reported by Bergstrom 2009; additional cost above A$24 million.

Status As of the sources reviewed (2009 paper): cat removal followed by a rabbit boom and vegetation change; later status not on record.

What?
Removal of cats from Macquarie Island was followed by a rabbit population boom and vegetation change. Journal of Applied Ecology
Where?
Macquarie Island (Australia). Journal of Applied Ecology
When?
Not given in the sources reviewed; the paper was published in 2009. Journal of Applied Ecology
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
Why?
The sources reviewed do not state the programme's stated aims.
How?
Cats were removed; the rabbit population then increased. Journal of Applied Ecology
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Cats were removed from Macquarie Island. According to a 2009 paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology (Bergstrom 2009), the removal was followed by a rabbit population boom.

The same record states that about 40% of the island's vegetation changed and that the additional cost exceeded A$24 million. The sources reviewed do not itemise that cost or say who paid it.

A separate review of island eradication attempts, cited alongside the case, counted 1,550 attempts, of which 88% were successful; 236 native species benefited and 7 species were harmed. The review lists the Macquarie Island cat removal as a case in which removing one introduced animal led to an increase in another.

  1. 2009Bergstrom 2009 published in the Journal of Applied Ecology on the removal of cats and the rabbit increase

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Cat eradication was followed by a rabbit population boom; about 40% of the island's vegetation changed (Bergstrom 2009).
      Journal of Applied Ecology
    • Additional cost above A$24 million (Bergstrom 2009).
      Journal of Applied Ecology
    • Island eradication attempts overall: 1,550 attempts, 88% successful; 236 native species benefited, 7 harmed.
      PubMed Central

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Vegetation changed
    about 40%
    Share of the island's vegetation, after cat removal and the rabbit increase (Bergstrom 2009)
    Additional cost
    above A$24 million
    As stated in the record citing Bergstrom 2009

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the years of the cat removal or of the rabbit increase.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not itemise the additional cost of more than A$24 million or say who paid it.

    Did the harm stop?

    The sources reviewed do not say.

    Who paid?

    The record gives an additional cost of more than A$24 million and does not say who paid it.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Researchers

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