Request for expressions of Interest - Commercialisation of Curiosity® bait for feral cats
Expressions of interest closed 5 December 2018. The text and documents below remain available for reference only.
The Department of the Environment and Energy is seeking expressions of interest by 5 December 2018 from suitably experienced and skilled entities interested manufacturing and selling the Curiosity® bait for feral cats.
Curiosity® bait for feral cats
The Curiosity® bait for feral cats has been a long-term $5.1 million project to develop a humane, broad-scale toxic bait to control feral cats in conservation areas.
The bait
The Curiosity® bait for feral cats is a small, meat-based, skinless sausage containing a small hard plastic pellet (or hard shell delivery vehicle) encapsulating a humane toxin. The pellet is made of controlled release drug delivery technology designed to dissolve within the stomach of the cat and deliver the toxin. This method of delivery is designed to target the Curiosity® bait to cats, who are likely to eat both the sausage and the pellet. Testing has shown that most native animals will reject the hard plastic pellet, and are therefore unharmed when eating the bait.
The Curiosity® bait is designed for broad-scale, aerial delivery in areas of southern and central Australia where native species are likely to be more susceptible to poisoning from conventional-style baits. The label will specify conditions under which baits may be laid.
Licence arrangements for manufacture and sale
The Department is proposing a licensing arrangement for the manufacture and sale of Curiosity® bait for feral cats to guarantee the long term availability of the bait across Australia. See the Request for Expressions of Interest document below for more information.
The Curiosity® bait for feral cats was developed as a collaboration between the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy; Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research); Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions; and Scientec Research Pty Ltd. While this request for expressions of interest comes from the Department of the Environment and Energy, full support has been given by all parties for the commercialisation arrangements.
Intellectual Property
The intellectual property for the Curiosity® bait for feral cats is protected through patents for the background technology on the hard shell delivery vehicles, the bait attractant composition and the combination within the Curiosity® bait product. There are agreements between the Commonwealth, the R&D company and the Government of Western Australia under which the parties have agreed to collaborate in commercialising the Curiosity® bait for feral cats.
Additional information
An expired patent from Scientec Research may provide information on the formation of Hard Shell Delivery Vehicles incorporated into the Curiosity Bait for feral cats. The expired patent is Australian Patent 744606.
A copy of the safety data sheet for Curiosity PAPP-HSDV is provided below.
Safety data sheet for Curiosity PAPP-HSDV (PDF - 99.92 KB)
Safety data sheet for Curiosity PAPP-HSDV (DOCX - 189.22 KB)
The Department does not have information about the potential bait purchase or use by any entity. State and territory governments have shown interest in the Curiosity bait for feral cats through conversations at Threatened Species Commissioner’s Feral Cat Taskforce meetings and requests for information.
Call for expression of interest
Read the expression of interest
Request for Expressions of Interest - Commercialisation of Curiosity® bait for feral cats (PDF - 778.01 KB) - Amended 20 November 2018
Request for Expressions of Interest - Commercialisation of Curiosity® bait for feral cats (DOCX - 342.5 KB) - Amended 20 November 2018
The Request for Expressions of Interest was updated on 20 November 2018. Dot point one on page 6 under 5. Mandatory conditions for participation was removed. This condition stated “ability to obtain manufacturing licence from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority…” There are no manufacturing licencing requirements for Agricultural Chemical Products so a manufacturing licence from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is not required.
How to provide an expression of interest?
You can choose to use the Response template in the expression of interest document. Remember to remove all drafting notes before you finalise and submit your Response.
You may use alternative forms to provide a response, however, please ensure you have addressed all of the Mandatory Conditions of Participation and elements of the Requirement. You must clearly demonstrate that your organisation meets the Mandatory Conditions of Participation, as failure to do so will mean your response cannot be considered.
Potential respondents are invited to submit their Expressions of Interest to the Department via invasivespecies@environment.gov.au.
Formal expressions of interest are required by 5 December 2018.
Further information will be provided to genuine enquiries to invasivespecies@environment.gov.au.