The Northland conservation group Bay Bush Action is calling for a nationwide ban on the breeding and sale of Bengal cats. Photo 123rf
The Northland conservation group Bay Bush Action is calling for a nationwide ban on the breeding and sale of Bengal cats. Photo 123rf
A Bay of Islands conservation group says tougher rules for pet cats in the Far North are “a major win for native wildlife” but don’t go far enough.
Bay Bush Action is calling on cats, like dogs, to be contained on their owner’s property and a ban on thebreeding and sale of Bengal cats – an especially predatory species.
The new rules for pet cats in the Far North came into force at the end of August as part of the district council’s new Keeping of Animals Bylaw 2025. It stipulates cats over four months old must be microchipped and de-sexed – a move aimed at reducing unwanted litters and curbing stray and feral cat populations.
The two strategies combined would help protect pets while enabling more effective control of unchipped feral cats that devastate native species, he said.
Bay Bush Action has long battled the problem of feral and abandoned cats in the region, trapping more than 220 in the hills behind Paihia, Windust said.
He claimed cats were responsible for wiping out colonies of endangered dotterels and little blue penguins from the Waitangi to Ōpua coastline and that 79% of indigenous bats, birds, frogs and reptiles were also either threatened or at risk of extinction.
Many residents were unaware of the scale of the problem because cats hunt mostly at night, Windust said.
Feral cats have been decimating wildlife in New Zealand for decades. This taxidermy example sits alongside some birds at Auckland Museum. The cat was the last one caught from Little Barrier Island on June 23, 1980, after a determined eradication programme commenced in July 1977.
“Many of them originate from backdoor breeders who abandon them when moving house, or dump them out car windows on country roads,” he said.
“We need everyone to play their part, including those who govern us.
“If the central government understood just how bad things really are, this law would already be nationwide. Thankfully, our council has dared to act,” Windust said.
However, the bylaw could go further, he said, citing the publication Extinct Birds of New Zealand, which lists cats as the cause for 11 birds permanently disappearing from New Zealand and as a continuing threat to 33 more species.
He also noted that a domestic cat was responsible for wiping out the last of the bush wrens, a small forest bird from a unique evolutionary line found nowhere else on Earth.
Cats, like dogs, should be contained to their owner’s property, Windust said.
The action group was also calling for an immediate ban on the breeding and sale of Bengal cats.
The hybrid breed, created from crossing domestic cats with Asian leopard cats, was first introduced to New Zealand around 1990 and has already been banned in some districts.
“Bengal cats are large, strong, and highly active hunters. They love water and climbing, and because of their wild ancestry, they often abandon their owners,” he said. “Their size, intelligence and strong hunting instincts make them a wildlife disaster waiting to happen.”
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.
