Paihia cat battle simmers

Betty Chapman, Paihia's stray-cat feeder. Photo / Supplied

A controversial cat colony in Paihia could be eventually relocated to a purpose-built enclosure to allay concerns about their welfare or preying on native birdlife.

Paihia pensioner Betty Chapman and a group of cat-loving volunteers have been feeding a colony of stray and dumped cats in central Paihia for several years.

The colony hit the headlines last year after conservation group Bay Bush Action, which is working to restore wildlife in the nearby Opua Forest, approached the Far North District Council about people feeding the cats on a council reserve.

The Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board resolved in April 2013 to remove a cat-feeding facility the volunteers had built on Williams House Historic Reserve.

The move sparked outrage among cat lovers and an international email and social media campaign against councillors and community board members. Then Mayor Wayne Brown added fuel to the fire with his acerbic responses to some of the American campaigners.

Since then the catfight has continued between different factions of the Paihia community, with some continuing to feed the colony's nine cats and others trying to remove food as soon as it is put out.

Caught in between is the council, which says it has now come up with an interim solution while discussions continue about the colony's future.

After a series of meetings with cat colony supporters and the Bay of Islands SPCA, council district facilities team leader Mike Colebrook said it had been agreed that cat supporters would be allowed to install a feeding facility they had built at their own expense on a road reserve in central Paihia.

The station, which is about the size of a phone booth, has already been installed on School Rd.

Mr Colebrook said further discussions were taking place about the cats' future. One option was to rehome them in a purpose-built enclosure to ensure their long-term welfare and remove any threat to wildlife.

Mr Colebrook said the council had a legal duty to manage and protect native wildlife at Williams House Reserve - but it also had responsibilities under the Animal Welfare Act to make sure the cats were properly cared for.

"This arrangement fulfils a need to comply with these Acts while we investigate management options that will provide a win-win for cats and native birds in Paihia," he said.

He urged animal lovers with land in the Paihia area, where the ageing cats could live out their lives in safety without endangering wildlife, to contact him at the council. So far the council had identified three sites where an enclosure could be built.

A spokesman for the cat supporters' group said they disagreed strongly with the council's handling of the issue and claims the animals could be a threat to native birdlife. The group will be commenting in more detail later this week.

Bay of Islands SPCA manager John Logie, however, said the council's proposal was a pragmatic solution and did not impose any arbitrary timelines. He said Mayor John Carter was trying to steer a path between two sides of a divided community.

Bay Bush Action did not comment yesterday.