Pet cat caught up in predator control work on Whangārei Heads

The killing of a pet cat by conservationists at a private property bordering the Bream Head Scenic Reserve has alerted its management trust to the difficult balancing act of trying to control an apex predator that also happens to be the nation’s favourite pet.

“Rambo” who belonged to an elderly man in the usually quiet settlement of Ocean Beach at Whangārei Heads was shot dead earlier this month after being caught live in a trap on a neighbouring trust supporter’s property and wrongly assessed as feral.

Bream Head/Te Whara Conservation Trust (the Trust) said it had since apologised for the “misjudgment”, was “very saddened” by the incident, but had learned from it.

The trap - not one it normally used - was not intended to catch a cat but was set up in a hasty response to a suspected sighting of ferrets, which - if they got into the reserve - could quickly decimate native wildlife, particularly kiwi.

Feral cat or pet cat? An incident at a beachside settlement in Whangārei recently has highlighted the need for conservationists to be sure. Stock image

The mistake outraged Rambo’s elderly owner and his friend Paul Nairn who called what happened a “fiasco”. Nairn didn’t accept the trust’s explanation or apology. He had since formally raised his concerns in writing to the trust and was waiting to hear back.

He supported killing feral cats but not in a way where mistakes such as this could be made, Nairn said. It was inexcusable and could easily have been avoided.

“This fiasco clearly shows the trust’s intentions of not informing pet owners and ridding the area of [pet] cats.”

“This animal was microchipped, desexed, and was a healthy cherished pet.”

He rejected the trust’s excuse that it couldn’t afford a microchip scanner because it cost $900. Much cheaper models were available, Nairn said.

“I would think this would be a priority tool, especially if the trust is going to trap in residential areas,” he said.

The trust said cheaper scanners wouldn’t enable staff to check a cat from a distance and it would be a health and safety risk to handle the cats.

This feral cat was recorded by a pest monitoring camera footage at Ocean Beach Recreational Reserve. Photo / supplied

Bream Head Trust has installed numerous cameras throughout the reserve, to monitor intrusions by predators such as this pet cat. Photo / supplied

Cat control in New Zealand has long been a divisive issue. Despite cats being a major predator in the wild, New Zealand does not have any legislation to manage them. Territorial authorities can impose bylaws but those are usually aimed at curbing nuisances caused by cats in domestic settings.

Cats were considered too contentious to be included on a hit list of pest species in the Government’s Predator Free 2050 strategy, launched in 2016. However, that could change after public consultation and a review next year.

Conservationists generally believed in eradicating feral cats. However, in recent years those efforts were being countered by a growing number of well-meaning community groups running “trap-neuter-return and feed” programmes for feral cats and dumped pets - an approach many conservationists condemn as they believed it would not reduce the risk of predation cats pose in the wild.

The trust said it had no previous cat policy. Cat numbers within the reserve had been relatively low thanks to current and past trapping work However, since the incident with Rambo, it had formulated a policy, which it was almost ready to sign off.

According to the draft version, the trust is “committed to managing the tension between conservation and cats”.

“Domestic cats are not our target, and we understand that people have pet cats that are loved and cherished. We believe that pet cats should be well cared for and kept at home,” the policy stated.

“We need to find a balance between the benefits of pet ownership and the impacts of those pets on nature.”

The trust said that like many conservation projects around New Zealand, it used humane kill traps for the control of rodents, possums and mustelids, as well as feral cats.

Traps would only be used within the reserve and the Ocean Beach recreational one, for which the trust was also responsible.

Owners of any pet cats killed or caught live in those traps would be contacted, if possible.

Aerial view of the Whangarei Heads end of Bream Head Scenic Reserve. Ocean Beach and the residential settlement behind it can be seen near top right. Photo / NZME

As another part of its policy, the trust was also making a register of pet cats. It had letterboxed 105 residential properties bounding the reserve from Urquharts Bay to Bream Head, asking cat owners to send in electronic images of their pets.

“This will enable us to alert the owner when their cat starts showing up on cameras in the reserve, or if it has been caught inside the reserve,” the trust said.

It claimed there’d been a good response to the initiative. However, Nairn said it was “more unnecessary bureaucracy”; there were other simpler precautions the trust should take.

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, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference