No funding available to curb exploding cat numbers
Friday, 29 June 2018
Animal lover and Marlborough Dog Pawz co-owner Michelle Madsen thinks that there isn't enough being done to curb New Zealand's feral, wild and unwanted cat population.
Registration, compulsory des-exing and a stricter limit on cats per household are some of the possibilities put forward to limit the population growth of our most popular household pet.
Cats are indiscriminate killers that have contributed to the extinction of nine native bird species and have an impact on 33 endangered natives.
In an attempt to address the problem on a local level, Marlborough Dog Pawz, in association with the Vet Centre, ran a subsidised cat de-sexing clinic at the weekend, performing operations on 37 cats.
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After such a positive response to the scheme, there are already plans in the works for a second de-sexing programme in the coming months.
'They keep breeding and breeding. It's a vicious cycle. SPCA is chocka,' Madsen said. 'It is a huge problem.
'They're not kept warm, they're not fed, not flead … There are people trying their hardest but the council doesn't see it as a problem.'
Animal Control Sub-Committee chairperson Jamie Arbuckle said a meeting about more stringent cat control measures took place last week between the Animal Control Committee, local vets, Picton Dawn Chorus and other concerned members of the public.
'People on the front line definitely see the need for cat management,' Arbuckle said.
Arbuckle said he was trying to work on increasing funding for controlling the cat population.
'At the moment we rely on people like Michelle.
'We have been able to find a small amount of funding for groups like the SPCA for certain initiatives,' he said.
'The other issue is there is no central government legislation around cat management.'
Fifty-one per cent of councils agreed to ask Government for special cat legislation at the Local Government New Zealand conference last year.
According to Madsen, people just don't get around to de-sexing their cat. 'And by then, the cat is pregnant.'
'People put kittens on Facebook, and they're cute and 'free' but they're not free. They need to be flead, vaccinated, de-sexed and preferably chipped,' Madsen said.
Cat management has been a hot topic in recent years with Gareth Morgan championing a cat eradication scheme and several high-profile de-sexing schemes in centres around the country.
Marlborough SPCA ran a programme in March, de-sexing 70 cats.
'This kitten season hasn't really stopped,' he said.
'Next season is going to be just as bad as we haven't even made a dent … There's just not enough funding to get on top of the problem.
'If we could come up with 30 or 40 thousand dollars, I think it would make a huge dent in the problem,' said Madsen.
'Normally, Marlborough Dog Pawz do dogs but the problem is there are so many cats.
'I believe there should be a limit of two or three cats per home. I think they should have to be registered and desexed.
There is currently a limit of four cats per household in Marlborough, having more requires a multiple cat license.
'People need more education about how to look after their dogs and cats.
'I would love to see it at schools, they're the next generation coming through.'