This is the latest development in the war against cats by the authorities in either New Zealand or Australia. Any cat is in the firing line: domestic, stray or feral. There are many great cat owners and lovers in these countries but their elected lawmakers are paranoid about cats.
Auckland city councillors have come up with another cat killing scheme. Any cat caught without a microchip in a nature reserve will be killed to protect native species.
Around Auckland, the country’s largest city of 1.5m, there are five large ecologically sensitive areas. Cats found in these areas will be deemed to be pests and liable to be killed. It won’t matter if the cat is someone’s beloved pet. They’ll all be seen as pests even if they provide companionship to their human caretakers.
The authorities want to protect wildlife. We know this. They keep dreaming up different schemes but they have one common element: kill the cats.
There is no attempt to do something humane such as TNR. Or trap and return the cat to the owner if possible and then make microchipping and confinement mandatary.
They authorities say that cats kill native species such as kiwis. Apparently cats have contributed to the extinction of at least nine species of native bird. I don’t have details. I suspect that this is an exaggeration and I’d like to know how many species have been made near extinct by human activities.
Upset cat owners
Of course cat lovers and owners are up in arms. Anne Batley-Burton, president of the New Zealand Cat Foundation, said, “You would end up with people’s pets getting killed, you would end up with the poor strays being wiped out. These are sentient beings and their lives should not be taken lightly”.
The plan is to take effect in March 2019. The SPCA say there is not enough time to get all the cats microchipped. Furthermore microchipping is not obligatory under the existing law.
You are the very last person on earth who should attempt to act as a spokesperson for what causes animals to go extinct.
dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2568524/Englands-lost-world-421-species-including-mammals-birds-butterflies-extinct-past-200-years.html
capitalbay.news/news/478599-uk-s-extinct-421-species-including-mammals-birds-and-plants.html
That’s over 2 species PER YEAR that YOU have made extinct with your cultural values, beliefs, and words. INCLUDING your one and only NATIVE cat species, The Scottish Wildcat, that you have now driven to total extinction with your own man-made invasive species moggie that’s sitting in your lap, and whose life you’ll defend to your very last breath.
Anyone living in the UK is a total laughingstock on the world-stage of conservationists and ecologists. That is most certainly YOU. And you keep proving it. Do it yet again. We need more worldwide laughs at people in the UK. Just like you’ve already provided and continue to provide to the world.
The only thing that is befuddling me at this point is why you and everyone like you haven’t crawled off to some dark urine-soaked corner, curled-up into a fetal position, and died from terminal shame and embarrassment decades ago.