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Outrage halts New Zealand cat-killing contest

<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>The announcement sparked public outrage leading organisers to cancel the event the very next day, April 17.</p> <p>A statement released by organisers explained, "vile and inappropriate emails and messages had been sent to the school and others involved.”</p> <p>"We are incredibly disappointed in this reaction and would like to clarify that this competition is an independent community run event," the statement continued.</p> <p>Feral cats have long been an issue between animal lovers and authorities because of the potential threat they pose to other wild animals.</p> <p>Authorities say that in Australia, feral cats threaten the survival of more than 100 native species.</p> <p>Feral cats are responsible for killing millions of birds, frogs, mammals and reptiles every day, compelling authorities to arrange regular culls.</p> <p>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”.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"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.”</p> <p>Organisers had announced rules to discourage young participants from killing pets.</p> <p>Any child who brought in a microchip cat would have been disqualified, they said.</p> <p>The group mentioned that previously scheduled hunts for other categories like local pigs and deer would still go ahead.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat,” it said.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>Animal rights group PETA was pleased to see the contest had been withdrawn.</p> <p>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.”</p> <p>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.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand. Maybe something involving kids &amp; kittens. Yes, Hargreaves?” <a href="https://t.co/E3nPTl1IHj">https://t.co/E3nPTl1IHj</a></p> <p>— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1648732952224833536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>"Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand," he wrote.</p> <p>"Maybe something involving kids &amp; kittens. Yes, Hargreaves?”</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Man who killed 350 kookaburras ordered to pay fine

<p>A Tasmanian man who shot and killed 350 kookaburras because they were affecting his native wildlife has been fined $5,000 by a judge for not holding the appropriate firearms licence.</p> <p>Neil Gordon Whitford, 60, from Deviot, admitted in the Supreme Court in Launceston he shot the kookaburras over a nine-month period in 2021 using a semi-automatic rifle.</p> <p>The court heard Mr Whitford had held a Category A firearms licence since 1996, but he required a Category C licence for the rifle used to cull the birds.</p> <p>Justice Robert Pearce said during sentencing on Monday that Mr Whitford’s 15-acre rural property had been “invaded” by a large number of kookaburras in 2021 after bushfires close by.</p> <p>Justice Pearce said he could not take into account the number of kookaburras culled for sentencing.</p> <p>“Kookaburras are not native to Tasmania,” Justice Pearce said.</p> <p>"I'm advised that a cull is not unlawful … I'm dealing only with the firearms offences."</p> <p>Kookaburras were introduced to Tasmania in the early 1900s to control snakes.</p> <p>Although the birds are protected in most other parts of Australia, they are not in Tasmania, and according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmnia, there is no permit required to manage them.</p> <p>In 2020, the Greens and other bird conservationists called for a Tasmanian kookaburra cull after reports the birds’ aggressive behaviour was disrupting other native species, however, that idea was rejected by the Gutwein Liberal state government.</p> <p>Justice Pearce also said the rifle Mr Whitford used was “suitable” for pest control, but he knowingly possessed it and used it without obtaining the appropriate firearms licence.</p> <p>The court was told Mr Whitford had owned the gun for decades, but rather than disposing of it when gun laws changed in 1996, he disassembled it and stored it in a gun safe until he started using it again for pest control in 2021.</p> <p>Police located the unregistered rifle and silencer at Mr Whitford’s property on November 3, 2021.</p> <p>Justice Pearce said Mr Whitford had no relevant prior convictions, and his neighbours “attest to his skill” around pest control.</p> <p>He said there was no risk to any person or other animals in this case.</p> <p>Justice Pearce said the weapon could, however, be used inappropriately in the wrong hands.</p> <p>Mr Whitford has been given 28 days to pay his $5,000 fine.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Legal

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BIG W begins massive cull of 30 stores across Australia

<p>Auburn, Chullora and Fairfield will be the first three Big W stores of a massive 30 store cull to be shut down within the coming months.</p> <p>As the retailer attempts to turn around a stunning $85 million loss at the hands of their savage competitors, Kmart and H&amp;M, 90 staff in each store will be getting the ruthless end of the stick.</p> <p>The closure process will put a $370 million dent in the company’s profit, and yet after a solid 10 months since announcing the “store review”, Big W’s owner, Woolworths Group, have yet to announce the remaining 27 branches that are yet to close.</p> <p>Big W bigwigs insist the once mighty retailer still has a future and some trimming of the store network will help “to accelerate the path to profitability”.</p> <p>The three doomed Sydney-based Big W stores will bring their shutters down for the final time on January 31.</p> <p>A Big W spokeswoman told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://over60.monday.com/boards/63889387/pulses/news.com.au" target="_blank">news.com.au</a></em><span> </span>it acknowledged “closing any store isn’t easy on our teams and communities”.</p> <p>“The purpose of Big W’s store review, announced in April last year, is to build a strong, profitable and more sustainable store and distribution centre network that reflects our customers’ needs and the rapidly changing retail environment,” she said.</p> <p>The spokeswoman said staff have been offered redeployment to other stories or Woolworths supermarkets.</p> <p>Last year, Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said there was “no alternative” but to shut down a number of their stores. However, he stressed that closing the chain altogether was not on the cards.</p> <p>Despite the major shutdown impending on Big W, there are positive signs for the retailer.</p> <p>Its $85 million full-year loss in 2019 was an improvement on the $110 million loss in the previous year.</p> <p>Sales were also up 4.2 per cent last year helped by clothing, online and click and collect.</p> <p>“The closure of 16 per cent of the Big W network is unlikely to be the end of the store rationalisation profile,” the 2019 note said.</p> <p>“Big W can confirm we are on track with our turnaround,” the store’s spokeswoman said.</p> <p> </p>

Money & Banking

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10 items to remove from your bathroom

<p>The state of one’s washroom is generally taken as a reliable indicator of one’s general hygiene standards, so best be keeping it spick and span. Ahead, our ten-point guide to conquering the bathroom clutter.</p> <p><strong>1. Hotel amenities</strong></p> <p>Every time I stay in a fancy hotel, I make a point to grab as many mini bottles of shampoo and conditioner as I can. (I have even learnt to go direct to the source – the maid’s service trolley, unattended in the corridor – despite the fact my hair only likes one brand of store-bought product.) Having acquired a rather intense collection over the years, it’s about time I purge and request that hotels start supplying something more useful like, say, toothpaste.</p> <p><strong>2. Expired cosmetics</strong></p> <p>Cosmetics are a bit like certain high school friendships – destined to expire, as much as you choose to deny. When makeup goes past their use-by date, their chemical composition changes. Leave it too late and they no longer do their good work, and can cause skin irritations and breakouts. Use this handy infographic as a guide on when to toss.</p> <p><strong>3. Old loofahs, sponges and wash mitts</strong></p> <p>That germy scrubber you leave hanging in the shower could be doing more harm than good. As bacteria gets stuck in the nooks and crannies, infection through broken skin can lead to the development of folliculitis and even perleche, which is a rash around the mouth. Avoid using them around your face and privates and replace every three to four weeks.</p> <p><strong>4. Ratty bathmats and towels</strong></p> <p>Don’t subject your guests to lint-ridden rags. Swap your ratty linens for heavy, luxurious, cotton-terry types that actually absorb water.</p> <p><strong>5. Pills and topical creams</strong></p> <p>Due to humidity in the bathroom, the medicine cabinet is actually the worst place you can store your meds. Transfer them to a storage bin to be placed elsewhere in the house, out of reach of children. Any that have expired should be taken to your local pharmacy for disposal.</p> <p><strong>6. Scummy soap dishes</strong></p> <p>Had enough of those shrivelled-up remnants of Imperial Leather? Before you start chiselling at your scummy soap dish with a butter knife, soak a towel in white vinegar and place it on top overnight. This will make the build-up easier to remove come morning.</p> <p><strong>7. Crusty hair ties</strong></p> <p>If the elasticity isn’t there, it’s time to let go. You don’t want sepsis or blood poisoning from wearing it on your wrist. The same applies to rusty bobby pins that have lost their rounded edge.</p> <p><strong>8. Mouldy shower curtain liners</strong></p> <p>Your bathtub may be freshly scrubbed, but the visual of a mouldy and mildewed curtain liner, blackened around the edges, can override any rational knowledge of cleanliness and leave you feeling grossed out. Time to replace! They’re inexpensive, prolong the life of your actual shower curtain, and can be tossed in the wash with your towels every six weeks or so.</p> <p><strong>9. Almost-empty bottles</strong></p> <p>They’re taking up valuable real estate on your sink and shower shelves. This is especially the case when it comes to serums, moisturisers and sunscreens you rarely use. Once open, the formulas begin to oxidise and age, ultimately making them less effective. If you notice any changes in the packaging, smell or consistency of the product – bin it.</p> <p><strong>10. Disused toothbrushes</strong></p> <p>The most likely candidate for disposal? That year-old toothbrush whose head of tightly clustered bristles now appears modelled on Einstein’s wiry hair.</p> <p><em>Written by Kathleen Lee-Joe. First appeared on</em> <a href="http://www.domain.com.au/" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Domain.com.au</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">.</span></strong></em></a> </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/how-to-sharpen-knife-with-mug/">Genius trick to sharpen knives without sharpener</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/how-to-keep-food-for-longer/">15 great kitchen hacks to extend the life of food and save on waste</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/dirty-home-items/">5 surprisingly dirty things in your house</a></span></em></strong></p>

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