Conservation cat-astrophe? Gareth Morgan stirs up the pot

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 that 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 1st 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 one skink, seven monarch butterflies, six cockroaches, one cicada, two rats and two birds (a wax-eye and a sparrow) – and that’s just the ones we know about. Of the animals listed above at least two (the wax-eye 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?

It’s a tough one, huh. While I admit to some embarrassment at the way Bernie’s blackboard of death is rapidly running out of space, the fact is she’s part of the family (and has been spayed, I should point out) and we’d be gutted if she wasn’t around.

So where do you sit on the issue? Share your thoughts below. Oh, and keep an eye out for the second issue of Green Ideas – it’s in stores this week. There are no cats in it sadly, but there are some great articles on urban beekeeping, electric cars, rainwater barrels and eco-friendly loo paper. Check it out!

Greg Roughan
Editor, Green Ideas magazine

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