New Zealand Announces Bounties for Shooting Cats. Why Do They Plan to Eliminate Them by 2050?
A competition for shooting feral cats has been announced in New Zealand. As part of a hunting contest in North Canterbury on Saturday, a new category was introduced where children under 14 can hunt wild cats for a prize of 250 New Zealand dollars.
In fact, similar competitions involving children have been held on the Green Island for several years. However, this is the first time cats have been included on the list of targets for which money is awarded.
In 2022, a similar contest involved over 250 children and about 650 adults. And in 2024, New Zealand children killed 427 animals: possums, hares, and rabbits.
The contest, by the way, has a noble goal—it is held to raise funds for a local school and swimming pool.
«There are many ways to raise money,» said Will Appelbe, a spokesperson for the animal rights group SAFE. «Sending children out to kill cats shouldn’t be one of them.»
The contest rules have already sparked a wave of outrage on social media and beyond. The competition organizers, however, clarified that domestic cats, even if they roam outdoors, must not be killed.
Children can be disqualified from the contest for killing someone’s beloved pet. Any participants who present dead cats with microchips will be fully disqualified. In New Zealand, microchipping domestic cats is a legal requirement.
Animal rights advocates were shocked by such a contest. «Disqualifying [someone] for microchipped cats is too late,» said Will Appelbe. «It’s not even an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.»
«There is a high likelihood that someone’s pet could be killed during this event,» stated a release from the animal protection society. «Furthermore, children often use air rifles in such events, which increases the likelihood of pain and suffering and can lead to a prolonged death.»
Why have New Zealand authorities targeted cats?
According to official data, both wild and domestic cats pose a serious threat to the biodiversity and wildlife of New Zealand. The issue is that they eat birds and their eggs, including endangered species. Lizards, bats, and insects also fall victim to cats.
The problem of controlling the cat population has already been a subject of intense political debate. In 2013, political activist and founder of The Opportunities Party, Gareth Morgan, made headlines when he called for the eradication of all New Zealand cats, labeling them «natural-born killers» and «sadists of the animal world.»
Nevertheless, New Zealand authorities do indeed aim to reduce the cat population on the island. The Chief Science Advisor for the country’s Department of Conservation, Craig Gillies, stated that the department «supports the control of feral cats, provided it is carried out by experienced people using approved humane methods.» However, he noted that «feral and domestic cats are the same species, and telling the difference between them is practically impossible.»
New Zealand has already included feral cats in the «Predator-Free 2050» program, as previously announced by the country’s Minister of Conservation, Tama Potaka. Initially, the program targeted five species of introduced predators: rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels, and possums.
Currently, there are over 2.5 million feral cats in New Zealand. They can weigh up to 7 kg, with a body length (including tail) of up to one meter. All of them are descendants of domestic cats brought by Europeans.