Anthony Phelps/THINGS
Kittens at Marlborough Four Paws. It is believed a female cat can bring to life approximately 300 kittens in her life time.
Two Marlborough charities are contacting the council to present brand-new cat ownership guidelines to minimize the area’s substantial feral cat populations and secure the location’s native wildlife.
With the support of Picton Dawn Chorus, animal rescue centre Marlborough Four Paws are set to present Marlborough District Council with a petition at the end of the month requiring more stringent laws for cat ownership, consisting of the required desexing and microchipping of all animal felines.
Michelle Madson, co-founder of Marlborough Four Paws, said more stringent guidelines were urgently needed to help stem the circulation of roaming and feral cats from metropolitan centres into sanctuary.
“People need to understand that the problem is actually in the centre of town, and they keep breeding, so eventually it keeps pushing out, and out, and out, and ends up in our native bush,” Madson said.
“We’re seeing kittens in the Wither Hills Farm Park, and they’ve got beautiful tui up there.
“When we went up to trap the cats at the farm park there, I could hear all the birds … if we don’t get the cats, those birds are going to be gone,” she said.
BRYA INGRAM/STUFF
Feral cats and kittens have actually been discovered and eliminated from Wither Hills Farm Park.
Council’s present laws from 2017 permit individuals to own up to 4 cats aged over 3 months at their property without any guidelines or policies in location for compulsory desexing or microchipping the animals.
Madson said as an outcome the roaming and feral cat populations had actually taken off in recent years, triggering issue for conservationists, and leaving charities and animal shelters to handle the consequences.
She said modifications to the laws were urgently required with the cats’ breeding season now extending throughout winter season and kittens having the ability to replicate at simply 4 months old.
“We’ve spoken to the council about it, and they said they’ll wait and see what happens nationally, but of course when you’re waiting, they’re breeding,” Madson said.
“There are just thousands of kittens and cats that aren’t desexed, and they’re just breeding and breeding, and it’s actually getting worse.
STUFF
A feral cat caught over coronavirus lockdown was found with more than 15 native lizards in its belly.
“We’re wanting the council to make it compulsory for desexing and microchipping – that would be a damn good start,” she said.
Earlier today, a transfer to mandate the registration and desexing of cats across the country took a significant leap forward when a Government choose committee required the legislation to be put in location.
Last year Forest and Bird approximated animal cats in New Zealand eliminate a minimum of 1 million locals birds each year. The variety of birds killed by feral cats stayed unidentified however was approximated to be much greater.
Pip McFarlane, Picton Dawn Chorus’ basic supervisor, said the preservation charity was totally behind Marlborough Four Paws’ petition for tighter controls on cat ownership in the area.
“They’re (Marlborough Four Paws) having such a problem that it’s got out of hand, and it’s acknowledging that it’s got beyond their ability to cope.
“We’re in support of the Council reviewing its policy over responsible cat ownership.
Stuff
Pip McFarlane, general manager of Picton Dawn Chorus, says the group is totally behind Marlborough Four Paws’ petition for stricter cat ownership bylaws.
“Stuff like desexing, microchipping and keeping cats indoors, those conversations haven’t happened yet because the Council haven’t come on board to have discussions and get something happening,” she said.
Some regional authorities had actually presented brand-new laws on cat ownership in recent years, such as Selwyn District Council where all domestic cats over the age of 4 months needed to be microchipped and signed up with the authorized microchip windows registry New Zealand Companion Animals Register (NZCAR).
In Whangārei, all cats needed to be desexed and microchipped by the time they were 6 months old.
McFarlane said she knew other councils carrying out such procedures and thought it was time a comparable technique was taken in Marlborough.
“Other councils have put bylaws in place, but at this stage our council hasn’t. So the idea of the petition is to get the council to address it, and realise there are people who are prepared to support some sort of responsible cat ownership and get them to start having conversations with us,” she said.
See the petition online at change.org.
