Knee-jerk cat-kicking needs scientific basis »

Preventing Australia's biodiversity from collapsing needs long-term science-based programs that are more complex than just culling cats and foxes, says leading environmental scientist Professor David Lindenmayer. Professor Lindenmayer from The Australian National University (ANU) said short-term programs could sometimes be ineffective or even detrimental. "You have to match up the problem to the solution to find the most effective approach," said Professor Lindenmayer, from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society. "Otherwise you're just going to waste a whole lot of public money." Professor Lindenmayer's views have been published as a commentary in the latest PNAS journal. Australian mammals have gone extinct in the last 200 years at 10 times the rate of those in the US, with 20 per cent of the mammals remaining now under threat. Other species survive, but only in a tiny fraction of their previous range, said Professor Lindenmayer. "The bilby is associated with arid areas these days, but it used to flourish in woodlands such as those around Canberra," he said.