Meowing marchers call for cats to stay

Klaus and Adriana Kurz lead cat lovers in a protest at Paihia's Village Green. Photo / Peter de Graaf

About 20 people have marched around Paihia carrying placards, chanting and meowing to protest Far North District Council plans to catch and re-home a colony of cats.

While Saturday afternoon's protest was not the "Paihia Pussy Riot" promised by the Paul Henry Show and fell well short of the 300 people organisers hoped for, Paihia Cat Protection (PCP) spokesman Klaus Kurz said it was only the start of the group's campaign.

For the past 11 years volunteers led by 88-year-old Betty Chapman have fed a colony of cats abandoned at Paihia's Village Green. The volunteers also ensure any newly dumped cats are neutered so they cannot breed.

Recently, however, conservation groups have called for the cats' removal, saying they pose a threat to rare shorebirds such as the dotterel as well as native birds in the nearby Opua Forest, where Bay Bush Action (BBA) is working to eliminate pests and restore native wildlife.

The issue has polarised Paihia residents and caught the council in the middle. After the original cat feeding station was removed, the council allowed PCP to build a temporary feeding station beside School Rd. That was removed last month and a council committee voted last week to catch the remaining cats and re-home them. The Bay of Islands SPCA has agreed to find suitable homes.

PCP says seven cats remain. The council believes the number is lower. The group has collected more than 700 signatures calling on the council to allow the cats to stay.

Saturday's protestors carried banners with messages such as "BBA go away" and "Save our pets from fanatics". Some wore cat ears or cat face paint, and chants alternated with meowing.

Former national SPCA chief executive Jim Boyd, now living at Okaihau, was among the speakers. He said removing cats from an area with a large number of restaurants would lead to an increase in rats and mice, which would have a more detrimental effect on wildlife than the colony's cats.

Les Robinson, of Kerikeri, said the youngest cat was about 10 so they posed no threat to wildlife. She dismissed the council's plans to re-home the cats, saying they were used to being free and would suffer "acute separation anxiety" if removed from the people who had fed them for many years.

Mr Kurz said Saturday morning's heavy rain had affected the turnout but the group had shown it could mount a protest. The next one would be bigger, he said. PCP was also taking steps to become an incorporated society.

Mrs Chapman said she wanted the feeding station returned before winter set in, as demanded by the 700-plus people who had signed the petition.

"The sooner we get it back the better. It's just so cruel."

She was pleased with the turnout given the weather.