Australian cat curfew to save ringtail possums

Cats in several Sydney suburbs will be ordered to curl up inside from dusk to dawn under a curfew that hopes to curb overnight attacks on native wildlife.

The move comes amid plans to reintroduce a colony of ringtail possums, which are much smaller in size, to the municipality. The odds are stacked against the possums unless cats, which climb trees to catch the animals, are stopped from prowling at night.

There have been some 564 reported cat attacks on ringtail possums in the past year, making up the biggest part of total cat attacks on wildlife.