New Zealand rewards hundreds of dollars to people who kill feral cats

The most recent feral cat killing competition was held last weekend in rural North Canterbury, where hunters killed 370 feral cats, along with wild boars, possums, rats and deer. This year’s competition attracted 1,500 hunters, including 460 children accompanied by adults. Feral cats prey on endangered birds, bats and lizards, and have pushed some species to the brink of extinction, according to the New Zealand Department of Conservation. AFP report

A hunter was awarded $608 in cash for killing the largest feral cat, which weighed 6.7 kilograms. A cash prize of $304 was also awarded to the contestant who killed the most feral cats, 65. “We’re going to continue what we’ve been doing and increase the prize money next year to make the contest bigger and better,” said organizer Matt Bailey. Bailey said the contest was necessary to eradicate feral cats that prey on native wildlife and spread diseases to livestock. He called feral cats the devil. “It’s great to hear the native birds singing, but their numbers are dwindling because feral cats are killing everything around here,” Bailey said.

Feral cat hunts are limited to areas at least 10km from human settlements. Many conservation groups want to include feral cats in New Zealand’s plan to eradicate pests by 2050, alongside stoats, rats, possums and ferrets. But the issue is sensitive in New Zealand, where nearly half of households have cats as pets.