© OneNews
Gareth Morgan wants to see a cat-free New Zealand.
Economist Gareth Morgan is championing a campaign to eradicate cats from New Zealand.
The "Cats to Go" initiative is encouraging owners not to replace their cat when it dies, in an effort to protect native bird species.
"Almost half of Kiwi households have a cat (or two) making New Zealanders the world's biggest cat owners. Cats are incredibly effective hunters and are wiping out our native birds," the
campaign website says.
It cites research which claims the average cat brings home 13 pieces of prey each year, but this represents only a fifth of the animals it kills.
It also offers evidence against claims that cats only kill rodents or do no hunt if they are well fed.
"In one study, six cats were presented with a live small rat while eating their preferred food. All six cats stopped eating the food, killed the rat, and then resumed eating the food," the website says.
A video on the site goes further and labels cats as "serial killers" who "torture their victims slowly and without mercy".
The site says cat owners can support the cause by not getting any new cats, fitting their pets with a bell and keeping them indoors at all times. SPCA chief executive Bob Kerridge says the campaign is a bit radical and over the top, and questioned the validity of Morgan's research.
He said their surveys show fewer than half of New Zealand's domestic cats kill other animals.
