Wild cats, or those "not owned by people", are among the creatures that could be declared pests in Canberra in a bid to protect biodiversity.
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Amendments to the legislation would allow the ACT government to develop a Pest Animal Management Plan under the ACT Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005 that could include euthanasia of wild cats.
The plan can be used to prescribe the area for control as well as the methods to be used in mandatory government co-ordinated programs to tackle troublesome animals.
In the territory, trapping and hunting have been the conventional techniques for dealing with feral cats, with lethal baiting not on the agenda.
"At present there is no practicable and effective baiting (or alternative) method for landscape-scale control of cats to protect biodiversity," an ACT government spokeswoman said.
"Any future use of baits to control cats in the ACT for the protection of native fauna at the landscape-scale would be dependent on the development of appropriate technologies which are subject to approval by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority."
The pest declaration is administered by Territory and Municipal Services, which has been working with the Environment and Planning Directorate to gauge public opinion on the issues.
Interested stakeholders and community members are urged to provide feedback on the proposed changes by 5pm on Friday, January 15.
Predation by feral cats is sited as a key threatening process under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
A threat abatement plan was developed under the Act, aiming to reduce the impact of feral cats on native wildlife.
The strategy includes guidelines for improving the humaneness and integration of control options, with the aim being to minimise animal distress and suffering.
Cats are unusual in that the same species can be divided into domestic, stray and feral categories; individual cats may move between the divisions.
According to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, feral cats "survive without any human contact or assistance" and are mainly solitary and nocturnal.
While feral cat management issues are different to those relating to strays or roaming domestic cats, they can overlap.
"Risks to non-target species (pets, livestock, native animals, humans) and the environment are considered during the development of all ACT government vertebrate pest control programs," said the ACT government spokeswoman.
"Current baiting programs for wild dogs and the European fox are not undertaken in urban areas where there is a risk to family pets."
