Australian authorities estimate that stray cats are responsible for the disappearance of 9 million animals every day.
A cruel strategy… but necessary. The Western Australian government in late June last year approved the introduction of robots equipped with artificial intelligence to kill millions of stray cats, also known as feral cats, which are harming local fauna.
According to Geo, cats introduced by British settlers are actually responsible for the disappearance of 9 million animals, every day, across Australia. These include mammals, including the endemic marsupial anteater, reptiles, birds, invertebrates and even amphibians.
Venom 1080
To overcome the scourge, there are six million stray cats in Australia, a robot called Felixer has been tested in this state for many years.
Thanks to the artificial intelligence with which it is equipped, it is able to recognize the cats and then throws a jet of eight milligrams of sodium fluoroacetate, also known as “Poison 1080”, which is extremely harmful to cats. When touched, the cat licks off the poison and swallows it.
A total of fifteen of these solar-powered devices will be used. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to specifically identify cats and protect other animal species. To prevent all risks, a curfew has already been imposed on domestic cats.
To counteract the scourge of wild cats, Australia is spending around 180 million euros on traps and baits.