Feral cat work stalls

Foxton’s feral cat crackdown remains in limbo as bird breeding season approaches.

In May, the Foxton Wildlife Trust proposed a survey of cat owners in the area as the first step towards tougher control around the Manawatu Estuary.

However, plans have stalled due to a lack of funding.

The Manawatu Estuary at Foxton Beach is home to a large number of birds and lizards, and listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as a Wetland of International Importance.

Trust chairman John Girling said they were in limbo.

‘‘We can’t do anything about cats at the moment because we don’t have any funding for it. We’re a charity and we depend on outside funding.’’

The trust appealed to Horizons Regional Council for funding through its Regional Pest Management Plan in April. However the council opted not to include any feral cat legislation. It did note that special biodiversity sites could have measures put in place on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile the issue was not going away. ‘‘Cats keep breeding and feral cats keep breeding because there is no control of them – it is not slowing down.

‘‘At the moment, it is winter so there are not a lot of birds around, but as soon as spring comes we are going to have problems.’’

The trust was working well to contain other pests such as rats and mustelids, however feral cats were slipping through the gaps.

"We are not able to address the feral cat issue at the moment because of ‘political sensitivity’, I think they call it. We are basically between a rock and a hard place. We are trying to move forward, we just have to be patient.’’

The trust had intended to carry out a survey of companion cat owners to find out what animals they owned and what they thought of control measures

Once a survey was carried out they would take the result back to both Horizons and the Horowhenua District Council.

Girling said funding was a struggle because they were only volunteers. ‘‘I work a 45 hour week for nothing and there is a limit to what you can do.’’

Horizons biosecurity and habitat protection manager Bill Martyn said the council had not ‘‘washed it hands’’ of doing anything.

‘‘If cats are causing an issue and causing wildlife losses at a site, we will undertake some control.

‘‘We will assess problems as they arise and if there are problems with feral cats we will work towards mitigating that problem.’’

The council was working with the trust on mustelid programmes and cats could be an extension of that. Martyn said their pest plans took into account peak times for pests and breeding.