The Bay of Islands SPCA is making a last-ditch attempt to overturn a decision barring a feeding station for stray cats from a Paihia reserve.
The Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board voted last month to order a group of Paihia residents, led by 86-year-old Betty Chapman, to remove a stray-catfeeding station from Williams House Historic Reserve. The group was also instructed to stop feeding the cats on council land by May 6.
The decision, which sparked an outcry on cat lovers' websites around the world, was based on the belief that the feeding station was a breach of the Reserves Act. However, the SPCA believes putting a stop to feeding the cats is a breach of the Animal Welfare Act.
On Thursday, Bay of Islands SPCA manager John Logie met the Far North District Council's in-house lawyer, John Verr, in an attempt to persuade the council to reverse the decision.
Mr Logie told the Advocate he been had asked to clarify the legal issues and provide more information from the SPCA's lawyers, which he was endeavouring to do by yesterday, in the hope of reaching a resolution before the May 6 deadline.
Meanwhile, the RNZSPCA has hired a PR firm to campaign on behalf of the SPCA Cat Coalition, the volunteer group feeding the cats. The company has issued a press release and set up a Facebook page providing a list of board members' email addresses.
The page urges cat colony supporters to email board members to make their feelings known - despite harassment complaints to Paihia police over an online campaign orchestrated by another Facebook page and cat websites in the US.
Board members say they have been subjected to a barrage of abusive and vitriolic emails.
