Gareth Morgan and the killer cats

Gareth Morgan sure knows how to stir up controversy, huh? His campaign to control cats in New Zealand has really touched a nerve.

In case you’ve missed the debate, he’s been pointing out lately that cats kill huge numbers of birds and animals in New Zealand, and that if we controlled our cat population then our wildlife would have a chance to recover.

He’s launched a campaign called Cats to Go which – rather than suggesting we all start murderising moggies – encourages cat owners to simply not replace their favourite feline when it eventually curls up on the big comfy chair in the sky.

He also thinks cats should be registered and micro-chipped.

Now the thing is, despite being a cat lover and owner, I can see where Dr Morgan is coming from. This year, before all this stink had kicked up, I happened to start a kill tally for my own moggy, a leggy ginger death machine called Bernie (that’s her in the picture). Since January 1 a blackboard in our kitchen has recorded every kill that Bernie (or Carol Burnett, to use her full name) has made - and I have to say, when it comes to wanton killing the girl’s no slouch.

So far the tally this year stands at 1 skink, 7 monarch butterflies, 6 cockroaches, 1 cicada, 1 rat and 2 birds (a waxeye and a sparrow) – and that’s just the ones we know about. Of the animals listed above at least two (the waxeye and the skink) are natives (I’m not sure about the cockroaches). And I really like having lizards in the garden and suspect there would be many more if Bernie let them be.

But does that mean that Dr Morgan is right – would it best for New Zealand’s environment and rare native species if cats were controlled?

What do you think?

 

30/01/2013  1:58 pm by foye1

So what are we all going to do when the mouse and rat population starts exploding due to lack of cats?? Maybe train dogs to catch them as there won't be any cats for the dogs to chase any longer! I know, 1080 them! That's always a safe option – oh no, wait, that will kill off the birds too, and the deer, and the other native animals in the bush. Guess we will have to see what brainwaves Gareth can come up with on that one.

 

07/02/2013  1:08 pm by angela

Cats are an unnecessary import, along with ferrets, hedgehogs, etc. Gareth is really brave to start this campaign and I hope he's successful. Just why do SPCA go to the expense of neutering cats only to let them out into lives of starvation and disease? It would be kinder to kill them at capture.

 

12/02/2013  1:43 pm by Green Curious

Please define "necessary import"?

 

02/02/2013  10:30 pm by Milotech

I think he's coming from a well-meaning place in the respect that he's concerned about our beautiful, unique native species. Something he mentioned that I had no idea about was the Trap, Neuter, Release programme that the SPCA adheres to. This programme apparently means the SPCA catch stray cats (not sure where etc), neuter them then release them. Why do they release them? Do they still count as strays? If so, who is responsible for feeding, worming etc? Apart from the well-being of the cats, are the SPCA not concerned that these released cats will kill birdlife etc? I had no idea hundreds of cats were being released by the SPCA into… well, wherever they're releasing them. If they're not concerned about the mauling/killing of native species that these cats no doubt contribute to, why are they called the ‘Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals'? Are they not concerned about the prevention of cruelty to native animals? Are they not concerned about their possible contribution of cruelty to native animals by releasing these cats? Are they doing their job by inflicting cruelty and suffering upon our native species by releasing these cats? Or have I got it all wrong? My family have a cat. In thinking about this, I find I have stronger feelings regarding the native species of my beautiful country than I have for our pet cat. That's just my opinion. I'm hoping other New Zealanders may have that opinion too.

 

07/02/2013  5:51 pm by Manga Puna

My husband used to live on Mototapu Island and DOC decided to get rid of all the cats over there, what a huge mistake as the rat and mice population exploded. Now I would have thought rats would be more of a threat to birdlife as they eat the eggs, therefore wiping out the birds completely; whereas a cat only kills what he can catch so therefore some birds would survive. I have a cat and find that most of the time she brings a bird in, I've been able to rescue the bird and let it go – and it is usually when I have failed to keep her food bowel topped up. I personally love all animals and enjoy my cat very much, she is great company.

 

08/02/2013  9:10 am by Tui

My old cat (who went to the armchair in the sky at the age of 18) was still able to catch goldfinches and wax-eyes by lying for hours under the lavender bushes and snatching them when they landed to eat the seeds. In his younger days he would catch young thrushes and blackbirds. The mayhem in the spring was terrible when the young birds were learning to fly. I love birds in my garden so will not be replacing him, much as I loved having a cat.

Some places suggest keeping cats indoors at night but my cat did all his killing in the daytime and slept all night inside. The killing was never for food, just the thrill of the chase.

 

08/02/2013  2:03 pm by frances

In the six years I've had my cat he has brought home only about six birds – some of those have been wax-eyes. On the plus side, in the first few years he would regularly bring home rats the length of your arm and mice nearly every other night. He hasn't caught a rat for a long time now – he's killed them off! – but he still brings home the odd mouse. I have a very small garden with only a few trees and we are regularly visited by tui and other smaller birds. Gareth Morgan should be targeting stray and feral cats who do the most damage to the native fauna. And shame on the SPCA for making stray cats healthy and releasing them!

 

10/02/2013  10:02 am by wbnz

I used to be a cat owner but since studying environmental papers in 2005, I realise the precarious position of most native bird populations and applaud Gareth Morgan's efforts to mitigate this. Cats, rats, mice, possums, mustelids and habitat destruction ALL contribute to the problem so anything we can do to help is great, especially if we all join in – consider putting out rat and mouse traps, make lizard and weta hotels, plant natives and don't replace your cat/s when they die. The more I learn about our unique flora and fauna, the more I realise the importance in saving what we still have.