Bridget Bardot calls Australia’s plan to exterminate feral cats ‘inhumane’

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Government proposal is aimed at stopping cats harming native animals
It got a savage response from Ms Bardot who was 'appalled' by the move
But government stress that the purge will be carried out humanely
Feral cats identified as main culprit behind Australia's mammal extinction

Published: 04:28 EST, 22 July 2015 | Updated: 08:47 EST, 22 July 2015

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She may have been called a sex kitten in the 1960s, but Brigitte Bardot is now better known as an animal rights activist and she’s got her claws stuck into an Australian plan to cull two million feral cats.

The government proposal is aimed at stopping the cats from harming native animals, and although stressing that the cats purge will be carried out humanely, Bardot urged the government to reconsider the plan which she said was ‘appalling’ to the international community.

‘Your country is sullied by the blood of millions of innocent animals so please, don't add cats to this morbid record,’ the 80-year-old said in the English translation of the open letter to Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

Famous French actress Brigitte Bardot was a film sex symbol in the 1960s

Today Ms Bardot is a vocal animal rights activist and has supported many causes

‘This animal genocide is inhumane and ridiculous. In addition to being cruel, killing these cats is absolutely useless since the rest of them will keep breeding.’

Bardot, who said the money set aside to destroy the animals would be better spent on setting up a large-scale sterilisation campaign, said Australia's public image was being hurt by its culling of animals.

Feral cats have been identified as the main culprit behind Australia's high rate of mammal extinction, with more than 10 percent of species wiped out since Europeans settled here two centuries ago.

Feral cats have been identified as the main culprit behind Australia's high rate of mammal extinction

The actress became world-famous in 1957, with the controversial film And God Created Woman

Mr Hunt has said the advice he has received is that the cats number 20 million across the country and devour countless native animals every night.

‘They are tsunamis of violence and death for Australia's native species,’ he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last week.

He said a target of eradicating two million feral cats had been set for 2020, in addition to creating feral-free enclosures to aid the recovery of birds and mammals among other measures.

10 per cent of species were wiped out since Europeans settled here two centuries ago and brought the cats with them

Ms Bardot said that Australia 'is sullied by the blood of millions of innocent animals'

Earlier this year officials said that close to 700 koalas had been killed off in southeastern Australia because overpopulation led to the animals starving, while feral camels and wild horses have been culled in the Outback to stop them destroying land.

Animals Australia said it was sceptical that the government's proposed measures would make a significant difference to the wild cat population.

‘It's worth noting that the primary and most significant threat to the continued existence of Australia's native species is the destruction of their habitat and food sources,’ said the organisation's Lisa Chalk.