I think the key to all this is the word *feral*, is it not?

We’re worried about feral cats, not domestic pets, surely?

And even then…. you’d want to know what effect feral cats are having on native wildlife…. and everything else. I’ve got no problem with wiping out feral cats if need be.

Morgan’s suggestion to keep cats inside 100% of the time is laughable. Morgan is an intelligent man. Why on earth is he saying that? That’s just not going to happen.

Oh dear… a few domestic cats live next to areas with native life. So…. everyone should get rid of their cat regardless of what they get up to or live near. Good logic there.

Do you know what fucked up the native life in NZ? Humans… in particular white-skinned niggers who came along and felled every bit of fucking forest and generally fucked everything up with their introduced pests. They were an introduced pest… self-invited turds…. Morgan should be requesting we don’t replace ourselves from reproductive age onwards.

First clearly if cats have not wiped out the native birds yet – they are unlikely to do so at least not in most areas. So this rules out all those advantages of biodiversity related to medical advancement and resilience of the biosphere (if they ever had any validity at all).

In the end the only defendable aspects you are left with are birds having a cultural and aesthetic and tourist related benefit.

The quesition then is now many tourists come to NZ to see our birds?
and
how does the enjoyment people get from birds compare to that that they get from cats?

I think the cat lovers of NZ spend more per day on cat biscuits than marginal bird tourism would make in a year, and I can’t see how a very small number of bird watchers interests should outweigh the interests of a very large number of people who want to keep a cat.

Pretty soon he won’t won’t to show his mustelid face outside the walls of his mansion.

The skinks and wetas are the main concern. I’m not naive enough to think they don’t kill natives but not stupid enough to think that their main prey in suburban areas are not suburban rodent predators.

Seriously though stupid animal lovers get blind spots were their favourite pet is concerned. The bush is full of feral cats doing what they do best because dumb cat owners refuse to have their animals neutered and the unwanted end up in the scrub.

Morgan is a dickhead. If he had attacked the problem from a sensible angle and used his considerable cash and clout to suggest a practical solution to the cat problem he may have achieved something useful.

Now he has just painted himself into the nutters corner opposite Bob Kerridge.

My first post went “missing”.

I rephrased my question, and was told that someone saw some data once, but can’t show it to me.

What a joke.

Even our cat thinks so.

the price of freedom is eternal vigilance friends

Sure 1080 kills deer (and cattle) and lots of birdlife…but it kills rats and rats are THE thing that will screw NZ wildlife.
Rats kill everything. Possums will kill all the trees slowly tho.

Employed scientists in writing Poles Apart
Consulted with people in the health system at all levels for Health Cheque
Same for the Big Kahuna
pppfffffffft!

Bloody ducks.. wanting us to protect them. This is a capitalist economy and I say they need to take responsibility for their own safety and not rely on the tax payer.
One thing you can say about the Duck in Parliament is he has “evolved to survive in sustainable numbers within an ecosystem containing Nats.”

JC

Totally agree. Besides if the object of the exercise is reducing predators rather than turning cat food into cat shit then get a fox terrier. A good foxie can despatch rats faster than any fifty cats.

And ask yourself this: Which prey is more likely to escape a cat. A rat or a Blue Duckling? Fact is, rats have evolved to survive in sustainable numbers within an ecosystem containing cats. Blue Ducks haven’t.