Outrage halts New Zealand cat-killing contest
A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats in an attempt to protect native species has been stopped following severe backlash from the public and animal rights groups.
The event would have been part of a fundraiser organised by the North Canterbury Hunting Competition for the Rotherham School in the Canterbury region of South Island.
A new junior category was announced by organisers on April 16 that would allow children to hunt feral cats and compete for a top prize of $NZ250 prize ($229AUD).
The announcement sparked public outrage leading organisers to cancel the event the very next day, April 17.
A statement released by organisers explained, "vile and inappropriate emails and messages had been sent to the school and others involved.”
"We are incredibly disappointed in this reaction and would like to clarify that this competition is an independent community run event," the statement continued.
Feral cats have long been an issue between animal lovers and authorities because of the potential threat they pose to other wild animals.
Authorities say that in Australia, feral cats threaten the survival of more than 100 native species.
Feral cats are responsible for killing millions of birds, frogs, mammals and reptiles every day, compelling authorities to arrange regular culls.
Organisers of the contest maintained that the junior hunting tournament to kill feral cats, using a firearm or any other means, was about "protecting native birds and other vulnerable species”.
"Our sponsors and school safety are our main priority, so the decision has been made to withdraw this category for this year to avoid further backlash at this time," it said.
"To clarify, for all hunting categories, our hunters are required to abide by Firearms Act 1983 and future amendments as well as the Animal Welfare Act 1999.”
Organisers had announced rules to discourage young participants from killing pets.
Any child who brought in a microchip cat would have been disqualified, they said.
The group mentioned that previously scheduled hunts for other categories like local pigs and deer would still go ahead.
The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was "both pleased and relieved" that the junior cat-killing contest had been axed.
"Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat,” it said.
"There is a good chance someone's pet may be killed during this event. In addition, children often use air rifles in these sorts of event which increase the likelihood of pain and distress and can cause a prolonged death," it added.
Animal rights group PETA was pleased to see the contest had been withdrawn.
PETA’s Asia vice president Jason Barker released a statement, saying, ”Encouraging kids to hunt down and kill animals is a sure-fire way to raise adults who solve problems with violence ... We need to foster empathy and compassion in kids, not lead them to believe animals are 'less than' humans while rewarding them for brutality.”
The contest was publicly slammed on Twitter by British comedian Ricky Gervais, who is a known animal lover with an enormous platform of 15 million followers.
"Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand," he wrote.
"Maybe something involving kids & kittens. Yes, Hargreaves?”
This is not the first official campaign against cats in New Zealand, including one that encouraged cat lovers to avoid replacing their pets when they die.
"Cats are the only true sadists of the animal world, serial killers who torture without mercy,” said then Prime Minister John Key, who had his own cat named Moonbeam.
Helen Blackie, a biosecurity consultant at the environmental planning and design consultancy, Boffa Miskell, has studied feral cats for over 20 years and said that numbers had risen in the last decade, and in some areas where pests were tracked by cameras, feral cats outnumbered other species like possums.
"Historically, we know that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species and are leading agents of decline in populations of birds, bats, frogs and lizards," she told CNN affiliate RNZ.
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