Calls for bird-terrorising cats to be contained to owner’s property

By Checkpoint of RNZ

There are calls for cute and cuddly serial killers terrorising native wildlife to be restricted to their owner’s property.

Tasman District Council is considering a new bylaw that would mean all domestic cats have to be desexed, microchipped and on a national register by the time they are 6 months old.

According to Local Democracy Reporting, new cats would need to meet the requirements straight away, while older cats would need to meet them by July 1, 2027.

Having cats desexed aimed to reduce the overall number threatening native wildlife. While that included birds, it also included skinks, geckos and wētā, Local Democracy Reporting reported.

But some environmentalists say cats are gutting the bird population and restrictions need to go even further.

Nelson-Tasman Forest and Bird volunteer Gillian Pollock is one of them.

Pollock told RNZ’s Checkpoint she had previously seen one cat kill four grey warblers one by one.

“The cat brought each one onto the driveway and just sort of left it there,” she said.

“It was really quite heartbreaking to see that happening.”

There are calls for cats to be restricted to their owner's property. Photo / 123RF

Pollock said she believed cats needed to be contained to their owner’s property, like other pets.

“They’re the only animals that have been allowed to roam free and it has meant that there’s a huge number, millions, of wild cats roaming throughout the country and I mean, they’re predators, they’re carnivores, so they’re creating havoc among the bird populations and it means trappers have got yet another pest to try to get rid of.

“If they are microchipped, registered and neutered, at least it’ll mean they can be checked for ownership and they won’t be producing numerous kittens throughout their lives, but on top of that, we’d really like to see that they’re contained.”

Pollock suggested enclosed areas for cats in a yard, saying she has a friend whose cat was kept inside the property by netting.

“The cat has the free range of that area and all the birds are outside it and the cat was perfectly happy.”

In New Zealand, Pollock said people had a “huge duty” to look after native birds.

“They are very special and a lot of them are only found in New Zealand. We’ve already lost about 25% of the indigenous species.”

She said many had evolved without predators and because of this, had no instinctual behaviours or habits to protect themselves.

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