Regularly BayBuzz gets reports from local groups trying to preserve the area’s endangered dotterels, birds that breed on local beaches and braided rivers..
The latest report says they “haven’t know it to be this bad before”, continuing, “this season at Bay View/Westshore the birds gave up when the last nests were predated in early January … Over the past 4 seasons of monitoring, we have watched their slow decline on Napier’s beaches.”
Cats are the biggest problem. Of course this isn’t just a problem for dotterel or Hawke’s Bay. Consider …
Cats are estimated to kill tens of millions to over 100 million birds per year across New Zealand. Domestic cats alone may kill over 1 million native birds annually (Forest & Bird estimate). Rehabilitation centre data show cats are the dominant cause of wildlife predation admissions, particularly for urban and suburban bird species.
NZ SPCA’s recommendations for cat regulation include:
- Mandatory Desexing: All companion cats should be desexed by four months of age, unless they are registered with a recognized breeding body. This is considered the most crucial step in preventing the overpopulation crisis.
- Mandatory Microchipping and Registration: All cats must be microchipped and registered on the New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR). This allows lost or injured cats to be quickly reunited with their owners.
- Keeping Cats at Home/Restricting Roaming: The SPCA advocates for keeping cats on their owner’s property, particularly at night, to reduce risks from traffic, fights, diseases, and predation on wildlife. This can be achieved through cat-proof fencing, “catios,” or keeping them indoors.
- National Legislation: The SPCA urges the central government to implement a National Cat Management Act rather than relying on ad-hoc local council bylaws.
- Support for Local Bylaws: While advocating for national laws, the SPCA encourages local councils to adopt bylaws requiring desexing and microchipping in the interim.
These recommendations are echoed by the local Westshore/Bay View group:
“If New Zealand wants its indigenous biodiversity to survive, there needs to be a drastic change in ‘cat culture’ – some Councils have adopted Cat Bylaws where, for example, cats are required to be desexed, microchipped and breeders registered. This paves the way for people to start to think more seriously about cat ownership.”
Unfortunately, Hastings and Napier Councils have ignored the problem.
Neither council has regulations relating to desexing, microchipping or otherwise controlling cats.
Too hot to handle, as responses to this article will probably demonstrate!
I’m a long time cat lover – but the damn things are born killers – I can see no problem with having cats limited to “catios” the same way many Australian states prefer. If that became law with de-sexing etc there would be no domestic cats roaming around and eradication of strays and ferals could proceed with no fear that somebody’s little moggie was hurt. Destruction of these predators (as well as the other introduced predators such as ferrets) would greatly enhance the chances of our true wildlife surviving
DOC etc just needs to stop sending cat owners pleas to keep their pets inside at night. Most don’t it.
Invasive pest need to just be euthanised.
No question.
Thanks for publishing, Tom. Speaking as a dotterel volunteer – it is actually heartbreaking to watch – night after night seeing nests predated. People may think their cat would never go on the beach at night – yes they do. Cats can wander considerable distances at night – and once they have learned to find nests and predate – that behaviour won’t stop. We identified 4 different cats – two with collars and bells, one looking well fed so probably domestic and the 4th was maybe a stray.
Cat Bylaws are actually PRO cat – not anti cat. Cats can get a bad time, unwanted kittens are often abandoned – they usually starve to death; they may become a half-tame half-starved ‘stray’; could easily be caught in a cat kill trap (there are several of those on the outskirts) or become feral – and so continue to devastate out wildlife.