Morgan launches tirade after Left-wing cat dies
Gareth Morgan’s anti-cat rant has a third act - this time calling on New Zealand prime ministers to have ‘‘conservation integrity’’.
His Twitter tirade has been in response to the news that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s beloved cat Paddles was run over on Tuesday.
‘‘Understand [you] fragile flowers of Twitter - wandering cats whether called Moonbeam or Paddles, [are] pests,’’ he said. It followed his tweet earlier where he said the prime minister had a ‘‘callous disregard’’ for New Zealand’s native wildlife. In reply, Ardern said: ‘‘I think I would just describe the situation as sad all round’’.
The Opportunities Party leader asked Ardern if her cat was ‘‘out and about wandering?’’ when the accident happened.
‘‘If so does this reflect the value the PM puts on NZ wildlife?’’ Morgan said.
Morgan followed it up with another tweet aimed at Ardern and other ‘‘apologists’’, which said ‘‘for $200 [Ardern] could have protected kitty & wildlife’’, before linking to a PetSafe cat fence for sale on Amazon.
Earlier Ardern had posted on Instagram following the news that her doublethumbed rescue cat was hit by a car and killed on Tuesday.
The cat was well-known for its polydactyl abnormality she had extra claws that looked like thumbs.
Ardern thanked people for their thoughts and asked people to ‘‘please be kind to the SPCA’’.
Ardern’s press secretary, Mike Jaspers, confirmed: ‘‘Sadly Paddles was run over by a car near the prime minister’s home in Point Chevalier.’’
Morgan has been a staunch campaigner for tougher controls on cats. During the election campaign he claimed wandering domestic cats were the biggest predator in urban areas. ‘‘It is definitely not about getting rid of companion cats - it never has been,’’ he saidlast year. ‘‘It is about controlling their predator activities.’’ Conservation, in relation to tourism, was one of New Zealand’s biggest earners, he said.
Tributes to Paddles included condolences from the US ambassador’s dog. Zarn Tarapata has been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after he killed two men at their workplace in Auckland three years ago.
Paul Matthews, 47, and Paul Fanning, 69, were in the lunchroom at Ezy Cash in Takanini when Tarapata attacked them.
Fanning was stabbed six times while Matthews was stabbed 15 times.
Tarapata, 27, told police and medical professionals he killed the men because God and the Bible had told him to.
In the High Court in Auckland the Crown and defence agreed Tarapata was suffering from a disease of the mind - mainly schizophrenia.
However, the Crown argued his actions following the killing, which included hiding some evidence, showed he knew what he was doing was wrong.
The Crown also claimed Tarapata’s motive was his belief his partner was having an affair with her co-workers.
Justice Moore said Tarapata would be detained as a special patient at another hearing.