Bengal cats on pest list
Bengal cat owners will need a permit to keep their feline friends and domestic cats will be microchipped on Stewart Island/ Rakiura and at Omaui under Environment Southland’s Proposed Regional Pest Management Plan.
Under the proposed plan, which was released yesterday, Bengal cats will be listed as an exclusion pest. Research suggests the cats have the potential to breed with the existing wild population of feral cats to create a more efficient predator.
The cats will need to be microchipped and registered with Environment Southland when they are 6 months old.
The regional council says this would have significant biodiversity impacts within Southland. Bengal cats can continue to be owned as pets in Southland, but a permit is required and rules apply.
The report says that during the first year the regional council will subsidise cat microchipping programmes for Omaui and Rakiura/Stewart Island.
They are the two communities where site-led programmes are proposed in the plan.
This will allow for rules specific to these areas to be introduced.
At both of these locations, this will mean introducing rules that apply to domestic cats, including desexing and microchipping.
These rules will manage the impacts of pest cats and support efforts to improve native biodiversity.
The regional council has undertaken a significant review of its Regional Pest Management Strategy and in consultation with interested groups and individuals has developed a proposal for a Southland Regional Pest Management Plan, accompanied by a Biosecurity Strategy.
The proposed plan contains 72 specific pests, including animal pests, pest plants and marine pests. It includes rules for how these will be excluded, eradicated or controlled.
Information and consultation documents are available at www.es.govt.nz. Submissions close October on 23.