By Hayden Smith

Topic: Environmental Management

Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 5:23 am

A detection dog helped find cats on the island.

In short:

Little Dog Island is now free of wild cats after a successful removal program.

The island is a safe place for birds.

What's next?

Penguins have been seen on the island for the first time in decades.

Penguins have been spotted on the island after cats and possums were removed.

Little Dog Island is part of a group of islands where many birds nest.

Wild cats were hurting the birds on the island.

Dr. Sue Robinson said cats were likely brought to the island when it was used for farming.

The island is 83 hectares and is located in Bass Strait, near Tasmania.

Mice probably came to the island when Europeans arrived, and then cats followed.

When people live on an island with mice, they often bring cats to catch the mice.

They're coming back

In 2022 and 2023, Dr. Robinson and her team caught and removed cats from the island.

Twenty-one cats were caught and humanely killed during that time.

Dr. Robinson said that's a lot of cats for an island of that size.

Now, no wild cats have been found on the island using special cameras and dogs.

Little Dog Island is in the Furneaux Group.

For the first time since the 1980s, penguins have been seen on the island.

Cats were killing penguins, but now penguins are returning.

Over 100 possums were also removed from the island, and Dr. Robinson is confident they're all gone.

The program to remove the cats was paid for by the government and done by Tasmania's Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Dr. Robinson said the success on Little Dog Island is a good sign for other cat removal efforts.

Little Dog Island is an important place for birds to nest.

In 2018, another island in Western Australia was declared free of wild cats.

Dr. Robinson said it's great to have an island free of wild predators, especially one that's important for seabirds.

Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the outcome is positive for Little Dog Island.

Minister Collins said working together to control wild animals helps farmers, producers, and the environment.

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