By Phil Mercer BBC News, Sydney

Wild cats eat marsupials, lizards and birds

The felines are the descendants of domestic pets and kill millions of small native animals each year.

A recent Alice Springs contest featured wild cat casserole. The meat is said to taste like a cross between rabbit and, perhaps inevitably, chicken.

But wildlife campaigners have expressed their dismay that Australia's wild cat now finds itself on the nation's menus.

Cat stew recipe

Feral cats are one of the most serious threats to Australia's native fauna.

One of the competition judges found the meat impossibly tough and had to politely excuse herself and spit it out

They eat almost anything that moves, including small marsupials, lizards, birds and spiders.

The woman behind the controversial cat stew recipe has said Australians could do their bit to help the environment by tucking into more feral pests, including pigeons and camels.

But it was a recipe for feline casserole that impressed some of the judges at an outback food competition in Alice Springs.

Preparing this unusual stew seems simple enough.

The meat should be diced and fried until it is brown. Then lemon grass is to be added along with salt and pepper and three cups of quandong, which is a sweet desert fruit.

It is recommended that the dish be left to simmer for five hours before being garnished with bush plums and mistletoe berries.

Marinated moggie was not to everyone's taste. One of the competition judges found the meat impossibly tough and had to politely excuse herself and spit it out in a backroom.

Wild cats are considered good eating by some Aborigines, who roast the animals on an open fire.

This outback cuisine does come with a health warning.