Australia is losing its mammals at a quicker rate than most regions in the world.

A three-year nationwide study has found Australia’s loss of 10 per cent of its mammals since settlement is one of the highest rates recorded globally.

Researcher John Woinarski, from the Charles Darwin University, said the study found cats and foxes were mainly to blame.

“Australia has lost about 30 mammal species out of about 280 endemic land mammals since European settlement,” he said.

“You can compare that to something like continental North America, which has lost just one mammal species over an equivalent period.

“What’s happening in Australia is unusual in global terms and far more serious than we had thought in any other continent comparison previously.”

Dr Woinarksi and his fellow researchers reviewed more than 3,000 previous studies completed on Australian mammals during their research.

The previous studies were completed all across Australia, from the metropolitan areas to the bush.

Dr Woinarski said the latest study found mammals in Australia were mostly becoming extinct in remote areas.

“In most places in the world, the real conservation losses are occurring in areas with high human population density and big development,” he said.

“That’s not really the case in Australia. Instead, it seems most of the losses in Australia have occurred in really remote areas far away from human settlement.”

This difference, researchers said, was because extinction was due to introduced predators and not habitat loss or overhunting.

Despite foxes and cats attracting the major blame, Dr Woinarksi said fire was also playing a role.

“Now we are seeing much more extensive and hot fires and that’s having an impact as well,” he said.

“It’s not as serious a factor as predation by feral cats, which we think is the number one factor. But the two factors aren’t independent.

“It seems the impact of feral cats is far worse in extensively burnt areas, simply because many of those native land mammals species don’t have enough refuge left.”

With an additional 21 per cent of terrestrial species currently classed as threatened with extinction, Dr Woinarski said the public needed to sit up and take notice.

He said for the rate of extinction to be slowed down, drastic action was needed immediately.

“It could involve things like looking after populations of mammals on offshore islands which don’t have cats or foxes at the moment,” he said.

“Make sure biosecurity and quarantine procedures are on those islands are well kept.

“Move some of these native species away from predators onto islands or put them in predator-proof fences.”

In the long term, Dr Woinarski said, eradication plans for introduced predators was the key for native mammal survival.

“We need to increase the amount of baiting for feral cats and foxes,” he said.

The Federal Government’s threatened species commissioner Gregory Andrews said he was tackling Australia’s high extinction rate.

The Government appointed Mr Andrews in July, with the goal to reverse the trend for at least 20 species by 2020.

He said he believed it could be achieved.

“Australia has had one of the worst mammal extinction rates in the world, and millions of dollars are being spent but we’ve got a new and innovative approach now with a dedicated threatened species commissioner model.,” he said.

“My job is to bat for threatened species that are available at the Commonwealth level.”