Hackles raised over proposed cat ban in new suburb

Friday, 3 January 2020

Hamilton's new Amberfield subdivision could become the city's first cat-free neighbourhood. (Video first published January 3, 2020)

A showpiece subdivision in Hamilton's south could become the city's first feline-free neighbourhood.

Independent commissioners have given the go ahead to the Amberfield development near the western bank of the Waikato River in Peacocke.

The 105-hectare subdivision could eventually house a couple of thousand people but is subject to a series of conditions, including a ban on residents owning cats.

The cat ban is billed as a New Zealand first for an urban environment and aims to protect the native long-tailed bat.

A cat ban is proposed for Hamilton's new Amberfield subdivision in the city's south.

* Developers respond to baty concerns, say they are committed to their protection

* 800 home development opposite remnant bush not wanted**

But Amberfield developers, Weston Lea Ltd, have challenged the commissioners' decision, saying bats use the river as a 'movement corridor' and not as a roosting site.

And the Department of Conservation has also appealed the commissioners' ruling, arguing the suite of consent conditions are insufficient to protect the nationally critical bats.

The appeals have been lodged with the Environment Court where parties are expected to take part in mediation in the new year.

Developing the wider Peacocke neighbourhood is a key focus of the Hamilton City Council, with the area earmarked to soak up city growth.

When completed, the Amberfield development is expected to be home for several thousand people.

'None of the [Amberfield] appeals have actually appealed the granting of the consent,' council's city growth general manager Jen Baird said.

'So nobody said this is a disaster, we absolutely shouldn't be building any homes. They're appealing specific conditions and the ones we're talking about is in that ecology space.'

If a cat ban is implemented, it will be the first such prohibition in an urban area in New Zealand, Baird said. The ban also applies to mustelids, such as ferrets and also pet rats.

Amberfield development spokesman Steve Bond said minimising potential effects on long-tailed bats has been a primary consideration.

However, on-site predator control, such as a cat ban, has its limitations because the Amberfield site isn't a core roosting habitat, according to expert advice.

Instead, Weston Lea are providing funds for intensive predator control in sites in the city's south with known communal bat roosts. Predator-proof bat roost boxes are also being installed in reserves within Amberfield.

Long-tailed bats are regarded as nationally critical (file photo).

Since the commissioners released their decision, Weston Lea has ordered 45,000 native trees to be planted along the river margins and gullies, Bond said.

In their decision, the commissioners said that while other established developments had not implemented a cat or mustelid ban, this didn't in itself warrant not doing so in Amberfield.

'Further as other developments come online, all protected habitat whether core or otherwise will be important, evidence suggests excluding cats, ferrets, stoats and rats helps,' the commissioners wrote.

Waikato University Professor Bruce Clarkson, an expert in ecological restoration, said a cat ban is a constructive move, but it wouldn't be at the top of his list of measures to protect bats. Instead, Clarkson is more interested in Amberfield's pest control programme and its habitat enhancement plans.

'It's not just a cat issue. We can put a lot of emphasis on that, but we need appropriate pest control programmes going on, particularly in relation to rats, mice, stoats and weasels because they are even a worse problem,' he said.

'In Amberfield, I believe unless we're serious about fully enhancing the gully environment and building really significant ecological corridors, then all we're doing is continuing to hem the bats in and make their lives more and more difficult'.

Waikato University Professor Bruce Clarkson is an expert in ecological restoration.

The SPCA didn't respond to a request for an interview but, in a statement, communications manager Jessie Gilchrist said in sensitive wildlife areas, pet owners must make changes to protect native biodiversity.

The organisation doesn't support a blanket cat ban.

'SPCA instead advocates for responsible cat ownership where cats are microchipped, desexed and kept indoors or contained to their owner's property at all times, therefore mitigating risk to native species,' Gilchrist said.

'Cats can, and do, live very happily indoors as long as their exercise and enrichment needs are met to ensure their psychological welfare.'

If a cat ban is implemented in Amberfield, the condition will be registered against the titles of the affected properties. Homes proposed for the subdivision range from terraced, double-storey dwellings to standalone houses.

The Riverlea Environment Society and The Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society have registered as parties to the appeal proceedings.