🐈 Feral cats are getting away with murder
Plus an affordable October farmers market guide, the biggest issues in Leongatha and can you guess which Gippsland town this is?
Jacob Wallace
October 01, 2025
⏱️ This midweek edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.
👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob.
✍️ In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about the increase in feral cat numbers across the Latrobe Valley, upcoming October farmers markets, and I spoke to Leongatha locals about the biggest issues facing their town.
🐈 At a Baw Baw Shire council meeting last week councillor Jess Hamilton expressed her concern about the overwhelming number of roaming felines in the shire preying on birds, bandicoots and other wildlife.
Hamilton said there are 103 residents on the waitlist to use one of the shire’s eight cat cages.
The reality is that animals are dying, but right now it’s not the cats, it’s our birds and our bandicoots and all of our native wildlife.
Gippsland Monitor subscriber Judy Armstrong sent us this photo from Main Neerim Road. If you have any interesting pictures you’d like to share with us feel free to send them to [email protected]
Photographer: Judy Armstrong.
🤔 Here’s a fun quiz video: Can you guess which Gippsland town this is? Leave a comment on the video if you know the answer.
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🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns, local interviews and silly videos!
🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂
Baw Baw Shire’s inventory of cat traps stretches to eight. But currently there are 103 residents wanting to get their hands on one. We know this because council has a waitlist.
The claws are out for the district’s roaming felines, who stand accused of killing birds, bandicoots and other wildlife.
Councillor Jess Hamilton claims Baw Baw Shire Municipal Pound is at capacity and, such is the scale of the problem, “we may have to do more euthanasia of cats in order to make space and clean up those feral and unowned cats”.
The Gippsland Monitor has sought the latest cat euthanasia data from council staff.
Hamilton told last Wednesday’s Baw Baw Shire council meeting: “It’s a much bigger issue in my eyes than some of those smaller things nuisance-wise, like barking dogs and needing to pick up your dog's poo.
“The reality is that animals are dying, but right now it’s not the cats, it’s our birds and our bandicoots and all of our native wildlife.”
🚦 What’s the biggest issue in Leongatha?
Recently, during an afternoon in Leongatha, I asked locals what they thought was the biggest issue in town. Take a look at what they had to say below.
🧺 OCTOBER FARMERS MARKET LIST 🥭
☀️ There are plenty of markets across the region providing fresh produce, scrumptious food and handmade arts and crafts through all the seasons.
🧺 Gippsland markets provide a great opportunity to support local businesses and community endeavours while often paying less for produce and products than you would in a supermarket.
Check out our list of October markets below and send us an email at [email protected] if we’ve missed any and we’ll make sure to add it to our list.
🎥 WATCH: Bushfire season could arrive early this year 🔥
Last week I spoke to Professor David Bowman from the University of Tasmania about how climate change can cause a “whiplash” effect between wetter seasons, which cause rapid growth in the bush and drier seasons, which cause that growth to dry out and become fuel for fires.
Take a look at the video below.
Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this issue, and we’d love to hear from you.
If you have a story you think is worth investigating, or would like to share your best Gippsland photograph (older snaps welcome) send us an email at [email protected]
I’ll be back in your inbox on Friday morning with more local yarns that impact you, October event lists and entertaining videos.
Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team
