Omaui cat ban looks unlikely

Residents of Omaui, near Invercargill, may be allowed to keep cats, as long as they are desexed and microchipped.

That is the recommendation of Environment Southland staff in response to written submissions on the Proposal for a Southland Regional Pest Management Plan, which was provided to the hearing panel and released publicly yesterday.

Staff have recommended that the sunset clause on cats included as part of the proposal for a site-led programme at Omaui is removed, but microchipping and desexing rules still remain.

If accepted by the hearing panel, this recommendation allows Omaui residents to continue owning cats, provided they are microchipped, desexed and kept in accordance with Invercargill City Council bylaws.

The plan proposed banning cat ownership in the area, with a sunset clause meaning residents could not replace their pets when they died, to support the work of the Omaui Landcare Charitable Trust, which has been trapping pest animals in a reserve in the area.

Environment Southland director of operations Jonathan Streat said there were more than 100 written submissions.

‘‘Our staff have considered all of the submissions and believe the site-led programme at Omaui can still be successful at protecting biodiversity and building on current pest control measures, while allowing residents to continue owning domestic cats and demonstrating responsible pet ownership.

Staff are also recommending that further investigation work is done on containment and curfew options.

‘‘This is still only a staff recommendation and the hearing panel will consider it along with all submissions, before providing their recommendation on the final plan to council.’’