A decision to order a cat feeding station off a council reserve in Paihia has been described as heartless by the Paihia pensioner who looks after the strays.
Betty Chapman, 86, and her team of 12 have been feeding Paihia's stray cats for the past nine years. Any cats dumped in the area are trapped, desexed and re-released. The colony is said to currently number 10 cats.
However, conservation groups have raised concerns about the cats' threat to wildlife - Paihia is ringed by native bush, and the beach is frequented by endangered shorebirds - and the council believes allowing the feeding station could be a breach of the Reserves Act.
Following months of debate the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board resolved on Wednesday that the feeding station be removed and the volunteers instructed not to feed cats on the Williams House reserve.
Mrs Chapman said she was waiting to see the board's resolution in writing before deciding what to do next. However, she said the decision was ``very heartless'' for the cats and her volunteers.