CANBERRA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Feral cats and foxes kill billions of animals in Australia every year, research has found.
According to a study led by Charles Darwin University, which was published on Wednesday, cats and foxes collectively kill 2.6 billion animals each year.
The toll includes an estimated 1.43 billion mammals, 697 million reptiles and 510 million birds.
The authors said the findings demonstrated the need for greater control of Australia's native species in order to protect native wildlife.
"We already had good information about the cats' impact on other species. This research gave us a clearer picture on the impact of both species nationally and in different and more remote environments," lead author Alyson Stobo-Wilson said in a statement.
"People think that a couple of cats and foxes aren't having an impact, but it adds up."
The report found that every year Australia's 2.8 million feral cats kill 815 million mammals, 466 million reptiles and 265 million birds, accounting for more than 1.5 billion of the total animals killed.
When killed by pet cats is included, the number of mammals increases to over 1 billion.
The 1.7 million foxes, which cover 80 percent of Australia, kill fewer animals than cats but are capable of taking down larger prey such as possums and wallabies.
Of the 367 million mammals killed by foxes every year, researchers estimate that 29 percent are native species.
Sarah Legge, a co-author of the report from Australian National University (ANU), said that without improved control procedures a number of threatened species would face extinction.
"The central rock rat, that's at risk from cats," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"Without any cat control, it's got a pretty good chance of going extinct in the next 20 years." ■