Adding feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 list will fill a glaring hole, say conservation leaders. Photo / Predator Free NZ
Adding feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 list will fill a glaring hole, say conservation leaders. Photo / Predator Free NZ
Feral cats should join rats and possums on the Department of Conservation’s predator-free 2050 hit list, according to conservation leaders.
Despite their devastating impact on native wildlife, feral cats remain absent from the Government’s flagship predator control strategy – an exclusion that threatens the credibility of the entire programme, saysPredator Free New Zealand chief executive Jessi Morgan.
“If we remove other predators but leave feral cats, we’re ignoring one of the top apex predators in our ecosystem,” Morgan told the Herald.
Feral cats have routinely been captured on multiple trail cameras operated by the Kea Conservation Trust. Photo / Kea Conservation Trust
The Department of Conservation’s (DoC) Predator Free 2050 (PF2050) review document acknowledges the gap between feral cats and other predators, but says efforts to manage them are fragmented due to a lack of national regulation and a lead agency responsible for cat control.
DoC has the authority to manage feral cats only on public conservation land, while some regional councils have introduced bylaws requiring microchipping and limiting cat ownership.
Kittens found dumped in the wild. Photo / Predator Free NZ
The issue even found common ground between major party leaders, with Labour’s Chris Hipkins and National’s Christopher Luxon agreeing at Newshub’s 2023 leaders debate that feral cats should be treated as a pest, the same way all the other pests in New Zealand are treated.
According to Morgan, cats were left out intentionally to avoid political distraction when the strategy was launched in 2016.
Predator Free NZ CEO Jessi Morgan.
“Honestly, I think that was the right call back then. But now, the conversation has changed. The public is ready.”
Feral cats are prolific hunters, capable of decimating populations of native birds and reptiles: “Their impact is huge.”
She acknowledged there was some sensitivity to the topic, especially from international observers who did not understand the impact introduced species had on island nations.
“People from places like Europe or North America often don’t grasp the context. New Zealand is unique – we have no native land mammals. Our birds evolved without mammalian predators. Overseas, conservation looks different. Here, it means removing predators,” she said.
Feral cats have routinely been captured on multiple trail cameras operated by the Kea Conservation Trust. Photo / Kea Conservation Trust
“We’re a nation of cat lovers. We have one of the highest rates of cat ownership in the world. So we need to be really clear about the difference between a pet cat and a feral cat. They’re the same species, but in terms of behaviour and impact, they’re completely different animals.”
Kea Conservation Trust’s Tamsyn Orr-Walker also supported the inclusion of feral cats in the act.
For more than a decade, her organisation has monitored kea populations, which are especially vulnerable due to their ground-nesting habits, and consistently found feral cats at nest sites.
“We’ve had trail cameras on nest cavities since 2009, and we’ve consistently found feral cats visiting those nest sites, which is really concerning.
Feral cats have routinely been captured on multiple trail cameras operated by the Kea Conservation Trust. Photo / Kea Conservation Trust
“A DoC research project even found feral cats directly preying on adult kea while they were foraging. So it’s not just nest predation, it’s across their entire lifecycle.”
Perhaps most alarming is the altitude at which these predators now operate.
“These are really remote, mountainous areas. We’ve caught feral cats on camera in these harsh alpine zones. Unfortunately, they’ve adapted well over time.”
She says the problem largely comes from abandoned or roaming domestic pets that breed and go feral.
In the Hawdon Valley, kea numbers were stable between 2009 and 2011, with females raising chicks until adult females began disappearing.
DNA from carcasses revealed stoats and feral cats were each responsible for about half the deaths, a level of predation she says can quickly devastate a population.
The chief scientific officer at SPCA New Zealand, Christine Sumner, said the SPCA was open to the inclusion of feral cats in predator control, but stressed it must be done humanely.
A feral cat that had killed 102 bats from two trees 20m apart on the southern slopes of Mt Ruapehu, in seven days. Photo / DoC
“We recognise the need to act on the impacts of feral cats on native wildlife. They’re considered a pest under New Zealand law, and when it’s justified to manage them, we support that. But our bottom line is that it has to be humane,” she said.
The legal benchmark was whether unnecessary suffering is caused, she said.
“Humane killing means using methods that lead to the fastest loss of consciousness, so the animal is unaware prior to death.
“Many New Zealanders support lethal feral cat management when it’s justified, but if it’s not done humanely, that support drops off. Society expects this to be handled ethically.”
A feral cat on a monitoring camera. Photo / Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust
“New Zealand has three types of cats. Feral cats live in a wild state and don’t live in our communities. Stray cats live among us but don’t have owners. Then there are companion cats, who live in homes. These distinctions are essential when deciding how to manage cats.”
Safe chief executive Debra Ashton said the animal rights group would like to see the Government and DoC “investing money into mandatory desexing to minimise problems before they start”.
“If we don’t act now, we’re leaving one of the biggest threats to our native wildlife on the table for another five years. We need to be brave enough to close the cat-shaped hole in our conservation efforts.”
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.
