There are estimated to be up to 8 million feral cats in New Zealand – six times more than there are pet cats – and farmers are fed up with nothing being done about it.
‘They just keep coming’ – Watch this story in full on TVNZ+
A farmer who made international headlines with a feral cat hunting competition for kids says he’s committed to continuing the fight against one of New Zealand’s worst predators.
Despite the controversy that followed the North Canterbury Hunting Club’s competition in 2023, organiser Mat Bailey said they are proud they’ve raised the importance of addressing feral cats for the protection of our native wildlife.
“We’re already in that downward spiral now, it’s only going to get worse. How many taonga species are we going to lose before someone says ‘actually, we should have done something about these cats’,” Bailey said.
He traps about 40 feral cats a year on his property, but that’s a small amount compared to what farmers with larger properties in North Canterbury are seeing. He knows a farmer who catches around 60 a year – sometimes two a week in the same traps.
“I don’t like killing them, it’s not fun, but you just have to do it,” Bailey said.
“It has been very much avoided, this killing of cats and feral cats, because no one had the backbone to stand up and say, no, actually we’re not too worried about you guys cause you don’t kind of understand the issue out here.”
Millions of native birds killed every year
Every day 65,000 native birds are killed by predators in New Zealand.
More research is needed to break down the responsibility of different predators, but studies have shown feral cats could be the greatest culprit in some areas.
One study of Canterbury’s braided rivers found almost half of attacks on nests were from cats.
Another impact of feral cats is from toxoplasmosis – a parasite spread by cat faeces that causes stillbirths in livestock, costing the farming sector tens of millions of dollars a year, and which has been shown to kill our endangered dolphins.
A study found a quarter of Hector and Maui dolphins deaths were a result of the parasite.
SPCA scientific officer Christine Sumner said because feral cats cannot be rehomed, lethal management needs to be explored but must be approached in the right way.
“What we’re learning more and more with feral cat research and control, is you have to do it well – or else you are just killing cats in perpetuity,” Sumner said.
“That doesn’t sit well with our organisation, but it doesn’t sit well with many people in the public. If you’re going to do it, it should be part of a greater goal people believe in. And in New Zealand, that would be to protect our native wildlife.”
During the last election, National Party leader and now Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said feral cats should be included in our Predator Free 2050 goals. However, in a recent review of that programme, the Department of Conservation proposed not adding any more predator species to its goals in the next five years.
Watch Re: News journalist Baz Macdonald’s exploration of the issue of feral cats on TVNZ+
