Calls for Govt to urgently introduce cat-management law

Above, a stray cat colony. Cats breed quickly and their numbers get out of control. A move to mandate the registration and desexing of cats nationwide has taken a major leap forward, with the environment committee calling for legislation to be put in place. NZME file picture

A move to mandate the registration and desexing of domestic cats has taken a major leap forward, with a select committee calling for legislation to be put in place.

The environment committee made its recommendation to the Government this month after considering a petition presented by biodiversity campaigner Erica Rowlands in 2021.

The Government was due to respond to the recommendation by October 25.

Rowlands petition said, “Requiring cats to be registered and desexed will reduce their populations, enforce responsible cat ownership and protect our wildlife”.

The committee heard numerous submissions, including one from the Ministry for Primary Industries, which had discussed the issue with officials from Tasmania, where mandatory microchipping and desexing of cats was implemented under the Cat Management Act 2009.

The committee said it accepted that pet cats provided companionship to people, but “we accept the evidence presented by submitters that the current, largely unregulated approach to cats does not serve the welfare of the large numbers of stray and feral cats. Moreover, the stray and feral cat population decimates native wildlife”.

The committee agreed that it was time to legislate a nationwide cat management framework based on the notion cats should be registered, desexed, and microchipped with appropriate exemptions.

“Such a framework already exists for dogs, and we believe it is time to apply the same approach for cats,” it said.

Like other submitters the SPCA welcomed the committee’s recommendation, with SPCA scientific officer Dr Christine Sumner saying the government needed to introduce a nationwide cat management framework “with urgency”.

The Veterinarians Association for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA) told the committee that while it supported the overall goal of cat control legislation, it didn’t think the proposed framework went far enough.

Regulating domestic cats only would not be enough to achieve the goals of Predator Free 2050, and the overall cat population would still increase under the proposed framework.

Helen Beattie, veterinarian and managing director of VAWA said the real issue would be in dealing with the stray cat population and additional legislation would be needed to give the country really comprehensive cat management.

Feral cats tend to be out in the wild preying on wildlife in the bush and back blocks.

The stray population are the cats that live around habitation and rely on humans and their resources.

Beattie says people often have relationships with strays, and the human animal bonds and interaction can make things really tricky.

New Zealand now lags behind Australia in cat control.

A Parliamentary inquiry there in 2020 led to “cat-containment” legislation being introduced for all new cats across the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), so owners would no longer be able to let their cats freely roam outside their section.”

Cats still have the right to trespass on other people’s properties in New Zealand and penalties for maliciously killing a cat here can stretch to seven years’ imprisonment.

However, some campaigners want to see New Zealand adopt the Australia’s cat-containment laws.

Some cat owners here are also voluntarily beginning to utilise cat-containment technology that is beginning to be imported here.