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in fact, our native animals (mostly birds) are really really unprepared for hostile species which is why they are getting decimated by introduced pests like po

in fact, our native animals (mostly birds) are really really unprepared for hostile species which is why they are getting decimated by introduced pests like possums, rats, ferrets. They evolved traits like being "smelly" so that they can find each other easily.... which, for a predator is like opening a fast food shop with neon flashing lights.

2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
You don’t have to get so exotic. One of the devil researchers in Tasmania has been trying to get domestic cats banned from the island. With all the unique wildlife and already strict quarantine laws, I don’t know why cats don’t have to be registered in some areas.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  > I don’t know why cats don’t have to be registered in some areas. That's a strange way to write "are forbidden from certain islands"
- xupybd 5y ago
  There are similar efforts in NZ. https://morganfoundation.org.nz/cats/infographic-damage-domestic-cats-new-zealand/ https://morganfoundation.org.nz/cats/infographic-damage-dome...
  - petre 5y ago
    How is imprisoning a cat in the house 24/7 not animal abuse? My indoor cat develped OCD and died early at 10y of age because it developed hyperthyroidism according to the vet. I stayed at the 3rd floor with concrete and a fence under by balcony at the time, so 100% death rate if the cat fell off. Got the cat when I lived at a house with a yard, had to move over, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a cat in the first place. I will never ever keep a cat indoors 24/7, better just refrain from getting one if no yard is available. Also no caged mammals, marsupials or birds.
    - jfim 5y ago
      How is unleashing imported predators and contributing to native wildlife extinction [0] not animal abuse, including 33 species that are now extinct [1]? [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 [1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02464.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486....
      - indemnity 5y ago
        Can’t reason with the entitlement of pet lovers. We should get rid of all cats in NZ at the very least.
        petre 5y ago
        Well, require them to be registered, neutered and ban all import cats? It's better than advising people to imprison their pets 24/7.
        bacon_waffle 5y ago
        I've never looked in to importing cats, but requiring cats to be registered is a fairly common discussion topic here. Dogs must be registered and microchipped (and aren't allowed in national parks, nature reserves, or wildlife sanctuaries). It's more expensive to register dogs that aren't neutered, so I believe the vast majority of pet dogs are. On the other hand, cats are commonly seen as a lower cost and lower responsibility option, and as a result there are loads of them loose outdoors. I help maintain pest (mainly possum, and rat) traps in a forest at the edge of a small city, our traps include some self-resetting rat traps [1]. This isn't something we've kept close track of, but I'd estimate 1 in 15-20 rats killed overnight in those traps will still be left the morning after, because a cat has cleared the dead rat overnight. An outright ban on cats is a political non-starter, but if we could at least require registration then pest control folks would have some chance of eliminating feral cats outside of special conservation areas. And, hopefully that change would shift the discourse a bit so a ban could be feasible down the track. [1] https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat

2muchcoffeeman 5y ago

You don’t have to get so exotic. One of the devil researchers in Tasmania has been trying to get domestic cats banned from the island. With all the unique wildlife and already strict quarantine laws, I don’t know why cats don’t have to be registered in some areas.

HWR_14 5y ago
> I don’t know why cats don’t have to be registered in some areas. That's a strange way to write "are forbidden from certain islands"
xupybd 5y ago
There are similar efforts in NZ. https://morganfoundation.org.nz/cats/infographic-damage-domestic-cats-new-zealand/ https://morganfoundation.org.nz/cats/infographic-damage-dome...
- petre 5y ago
  How is imprisoning a cat in the house 24/7 not animal abuse? My indoor cat develped OCD and died early at 10y of age because it developed hyperthyroidism according to the vet. I stayed at the 3rd floor with concrete and a fence under by balcony at the time, so 100% death rate if the cat fell off. Got the cat when I lived at a house with a yard, had to move over, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a cat in the first place. I will never ever keep a cat indoors 24/7, better just refrain from getting one if no yard is available. Also no caged mammals, marsupials or birds.
  - jfim 5y ago
    How is unleashing imported predators and contributing to native wildlife extinction [0] not animal abuse, including 33 species that are now extinct [1]? [0] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380 [1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02464.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2486....
    - indemnity 5y ago
      Can’t reason with the entitlement of pet lovers. We should get rid of all cats in NZ at the very least.
      - petre 5y ago
        Well, require them to be registered, neutered and ban all import cats? It's better than advising people to imprison their pets 24/7.
        bacon_waffle 5y ago
        I've never looked in to importing cats, but requiring cats to be registered is a fairly common discussion topic here. Dogs must be registered and microchipped (and aren't allowed in national parks, nature reserves, or wildlife sanctuaries). It's more expensive to register dogs that aren't neutered, so I believe the vast majority of pet dogs are. On the other hand, cats are commonly seen as a lower cost and lower responsibility option, and as a result there are loads of them loose outdoors. I help maintain pest (mainly possum, and rat) traps in a forest at the edge of a small city, our traps include some self-resetting rat traps [1]. This isn't something we've kept close track of, but I'd estimate 1 in 15-20 rats killed overnight in those traps will still be left the morning after, because a cat has cleared the dead rat overnight. An outright ban on cats is a political non-starter, but if we could at least require registration then pest control folks would have some chance of eliminating feral cats outside of special conservation areas. And, hopefully that change would shift the discourse a bit so a ban could be feasible down the track. [1] https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat