Nature Foundation Field Ecologist, Dr Hugh McGregor, has joined other experts in the field on a paper refuting a recent article (Wallach and Lundgren 2025) which concluded that there was no compelling evidence that two introduced predators (domestic cats and red foxes) were primary causes of mammal losses in Australia.

The authors find substantial flaws in its premises, analyses, data, interpretations, and conclusions, and using multiple lines of evidence, show that these two predators are strongly implicated in most Australian mammal extinctions and in the ongoing imperilment of numerous extant species.

Excerpt from the abstract:

“The devastating impact of cats and foxes on Australia’s mammals has been widely recognized by conservation managers who have, in response, implemented national programs to control these predators, producing widely recognized benefits for one of the world’s most remarkable native mammal faunas.”

Read the paper here.