Time for SPCA to get realistic about cats

Referring to the article in HB Today December 3: “Kittens Dumped in Paper Shopping Bag”. The SPCA intend to get these kittens ready for adoption — thereby encouraging cat ownership.

Meanwhile there is an estimated 1.1 million feral cats and thousands of strays in New Zealand devastating our wildlife. There are multiple cat kill traps scattered throughout the country and New Zealand has no cat legislation. Cats are considered one of NZ’s top predators and many would like to see feral cats added to the predator free NZ list.

Australia, with a similar feral cat problem, is streets ahead of NZ with cat legislation. Tasmania has had cat legislation since 2009 — there, it is illegal to abandon a cat, cats over 4 months must be desexed and microchipped, all breeders must hold a permit, there is a limited number of cats per household and in some areas cats must be contained on the property. This has led to discouragement of cat ownership — partly through cost. A whole new industry has sprung up with ‘cat containment runs / cages / tunnels, etc.’ Forest and Bird are lobbying the government to introduce a ‘Cat Management Act’.

Yes I have owned cats in the past and I think they are wonderful animals — just a shame about the humans. Come on SPCA — get realistic about this.

Lynne Anderson

Fix roads not cycleways

Why spend $15 million on upgrading cycleways? It should be put to fixing the roads road Hawke’s Bay. Have you actually gone round and looked at the condition of the roads. They are terrible just patch-up jobs. You probably just sit in a big office pushing buttons and have no idea of the conditions of our roads.

Sharon Hughs

Hastings