Councilsmove on cat controls
Local authorities are increasingly looking to introduce cat controls to protect native species.
Cats are the most common companion animal in New Zealand but are also highly efficient predators and known to kill native wildlife, including birds, lizards and insects.
Last January, a solitary cat was found to have killed all but one banded dotterel chick at a breeding colony in Lower Hutt. Cats are also responsible for the total nesting failure of a monitored colony in Kaiko¯ura last year.
In a submission to Kaiko¯ura District Council last year, dotterel researcher Ailsa Howard called for regulations to reduce cats’ impact on wildlife. The council stopped short of adopting a bylaw but hoped to find a ‘‘pragmatic solution’’.
Wellington City Council was the first to implement cat controls, updating its animal bylaw in 2016 to include mandatory microchipping. New Plymouth City Council adopted an animal bylaw last year limiting the number of cats allowed on each urban property to three, unless the resident had express approval from the council.
Whanganui households will be limited to three cats under a bylaw coming into force in July. Cats must also be desexed and microchipped.
In Hamilton, a council-run cat desexing fund was set up in 2019 in a bid to control a growing population of strays.
In Selwyn, consultation showed the public supported cat controls, but the council decided instead to advocate for national legislation.
However, not all Kiwis are on board with tighter cat controls.
Feline Rights New Zealand was established in response to ‘‘anti-cat propaganda ... being spread by eco-extremist organisations’’, namely the Morgan Foundation.
Northland Cats in Balance was established about 10 years ago. Spokesman Klaus Kurz said cats kept predators such as rats and stoats under control.
Yolanda van Heezik, a zoology professor at the University of Otago, said even if studies confirmed the impact of cats on prey populations, most cat owners’ attitudes would not change, meaning more needs to be done to change the ‘‘social norms’’ of cat ownership.