New Zealand council to ban cats to protect native birds

The village council of Omaui in New Zealand's Southland region has proposed to add a ban on domestic cats to their Pest Management Plan to protect native wildlife, especially birds, in the region. The proposal is drawing anger from local residents who say the council acts "like a police state". Some people argue they need cats for rodent control.

New Zealand council plans to ban all pet cats
New Zealand village's plan to ban cats draws furious response

Now I'm definitely no great lover of domestic cats and I readily agree their hunting poses a great menace to wildlife - not just in New Zealand, but pretty much everywhere really, including on the continents - but the downgrading of cats from pet to pest and a total ban on cats seem at least somewhat excessive and overly harsh to me. Like a police state, as the locals rightfully called it.

Personally I think that strict(er) regulation of cats would be a better option. Regulate cat breeding, require cats to be kept indoors or, when outdoors, in a fully enclosed space or cage. I personally do not think that the welfare of cats would be greatly negatively impacted by being kept as indoor or contained pets and not being able to hunt. In fact I think it would in fact make cats themselves safer as well. I'm sure there's plenty of indoor cats who do fine - and perhaps that's the type of cat we should be propagating. That said, regulation does have to come with compliance and enforcement and maybe that is the part the council doesn't trust people with or doesn't want to do.

Thoughts?

 

Not overly harsh if you're one of the billions of birds killed each year by people's beloved pets.

 

Although I think it's fine to kill the ones that are actively hunting these birds like cats that are feral etc., I don't think culling every single cat on the island is a good idea, but to protect a wild species, there could definitely be laws that are put into place that would regulate the breeding of cats for domestic life. Besides that, keep them indoors, and anyone that has cats that do like to be outdoors, build enclosures for them so that they're contained and yet they can still be outside.

 

I had once a weird idea.

Check kittens for hunting instinct and sell those with low hunting instinct as wildlife-safe. Cats differ in hunting behaviour. Most cats hunt, but there are many couch potatoes uninterested in hunting, which still make great pets.

Cat breeders could breed a strain of non-hunting cats within few generations. Domestic animals were successfully bred for aspects of their behavior before. Breeds of dogs used for hunting or tracking have changed behaviour. Maybe it is possible to breed cats safe for birds? Most cats are now kept as companions, and lost the role of a pest control.

 

One could develop corrals for cats.

A simple movable construction from poles and plastic mesh. Similar to corrals used to keep pygmy goats but with smaller mesh size and a mesh roof maybe a meter in height. A corral could be easily put on a garden lawn and give a cat space to exercise outdoors while keeping it enclosed.

Cat owners could be interested in such a product, because it protects cats from getting lost (e.g. a cat taken on a holiday), killed by a car or other accidents.

 

There are domestic cats that never killed a bird and don't eat anything that is not prepared cat food. Making the innocents pay for culprits is not justice, but is a much easier measure than the almost impossible task of controll each cat individually. Finally I voted for the third option - they should be regulated - and I see that it's the most choosed option too.

 

Regulate them, and as @Jurek7 points out a small mesh outside run would be ideal for outdoor cats. Indoor cats don't do outside, and I speak from experience. My cat will lay on the doorstep or on the balcony but never travels further than that, even though he's not held in place. He's also never once attempted to hunt anything, he just attacks my dogs!