Compulsory microchips, desexing on the cards for cats in Nelson
A new cat bylaw for Nelson could make it compulsory to microchip and desex your moggies.
At a Nelson City Council meeting on Thursday councillors agreed to begin establishing a bylaw.
It comes as Tasman District Council is also working on a bylaw, with Nelson council staff saying the aim was to align the rules of the two councils.
In a report to council on the matter, staff said vets and the SPCA supported microchipping and desexing as measures to manage cat populations.
“Microchipping of cats, and microchip registration, is essential for any cat management programme as it can help distinguish companion or managed stray cats from feral cats and can help ensure a lost or injured cat’s owner can be identified and contacted to enable rehoming.
“It can also help target education effort/ responsibility for cats creating a nuisance or public health issue.”
Councillors were supportive of the move, particularly to help protect native birds and biodiversity.
Deputy Mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens said he “dearly, dearly adore my own feline friend” but there was also a responsibility to the whenua.
“If we want to have natural predators as our friends we should also have reasonable legislation and rules to guide how we manage them.”
Councillor Campbell Rollo said it was appropriate to manage cats given the council was trying to encourage and support initiatives to enhance native bird life and biodiversity.
Mayor Nick Smith said it would be an “uncomfortable conversation” but it was necessary to protect wildlife.
Management of feral cat populations was made difficult by the uncertainty of whether a cat was actually a pet, and microchipping was a practical step to addressing that, he said.
He advocated for aligning any bylaw with Tasman’s so there was consistency at the border.
The council will now begin pre-engagement to inform a draft bylaw, which will be brought to the council for consideration in September.
Council Tim Skinner voted against starting the bylaw process.
SPCA national desexing programme manager Rebecca Dobson said the organisation was concerned about the “excessive, uncontrolled breeding of pets”. It was a significant factor in New Zealand’s widespread stray and unwanted animal problems, which lead to negative welfare outcomes and harm to the environment.
The SPCA supported the work of councils which passed bylaws to manage cats to reduce overpopulation, improve welfare and protect biodiversity.
There were approximately 1.2 million companion cats in over a third of households across New Zealand.
About 70% of animals received by the SPCA came from unplanned litters of kittens, numerous lost cats, and sick and injured cats and kittens.
Dobson said desexing was the most vital tool to drive down the population of unplanned litters and offered health and behavioural benefits for animals.
For example, in male dogs it reduced aggression and the urge to roam. Desexed female cats were less likely to develop certain cancers.
Microchipping was an effective way to reunite a pet with its owner.
In Tasman, the council this week said questions to the public about its proposed cat bylaw had drawn almost 1600 comments.
Of those 89% were in support of compulsory desexing while 86% backed the idea of mandatory microchipping and 68% were in favour of registering on the New Zealand Companion Animal Register. Only 6% weren’t in favour of any of these options.
The council expected to formally consult on the bylaw later this year.