Gareth Morgan wants your cat dead

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ajobbins

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#113615 22-Jan-2013 14:51

I'm sure many of you will have seen the discussions or articles today about Gareth Morgan's new campaign to rid New Zealand of domestic cats in order to protect our native bird species.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10860653

I have a lot of respect for Gareth Morgan generally, but I think he is way out of touch on this one.

What are your thoughts?

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#748843 22-Jan-2013 14:53

I don't have a lot of respect for Gareth Morgan but I think he is spot on with this one.

DjShadow

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#748844 22-Jan-2013 14:54

I'd love him to walk into a playcentre/kindy and tell all the kids they can't have a cat because it catches birds

timmmay

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#748847 22-Jan-2013 14:58

He doesn't want your cat dead, he wants you to not get another cat when any current one dies.

keewee01

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#748849 22-Jan-2013 14:59

+1 - he is way off base. And throwing a photoshopped image of a cat onto the front page destroys any credibility!

By the same token we should destroy all dogs as they kill and eat Kiwi *GASP*

Geekamouse

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#748850 22-Jan-2013 14:59

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would like to rid NZ of investment advisors to protect our native investors.

JokezNZ

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#748853 22-Jan-2013 15:01

He's a bit early with his April Fools joke.

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ajobbins

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#748854 22-Jan-2013 15:02

Let me expand:

While he may have somewhat of a point, and I don't deny that domestic cats will be responsible for the death of some native birds, I would like to see some solid evidence showing that domestic cats are solely responsible for declining numbers of native birds, that eradicating them would reverse this and that their eradication would have other negative effects on other pests (like an increase in rodents).

DOC for example acknowledge that dogs, ferrets and stoats each kill far more kiwi than cats do, yet GM is not calling for the eradication of any of those.

If there is a genuine problem here, which I am not yet fully convinced there is, I think it would be better to address it in a similar way to Australia. Here in Melbourne, I am required by law to register my cats (I have two). Local council by-laws limit me to owning two cats (unless by written exemption). My cats if outside (they never are) must be wearing council issued ID tags at all times and there are heavy penalties for breaching any of these by-laws. My cats are micro chipped and neutered. If they were not, my registration fees would be significantly higher. Many parts of Australia also have by-laws requiring cats be kept inside at night. Breaching any of these laws can mean my cats could be destroyed and/or I be heavily fined.

I think the above approach is a much more sensible way to address this.

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reven

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#748855 22-Jan-2013 15:02

i was going to get my son a kitten for his 4th birthday, i'm going to get him two now.

JamesL

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#748859 22-Jan-2013 15:04

Sounds like Stuff/Dom Post called him up to talk about Phoenix, instead they got a story about cats...

ajobbins

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#748860 22-Jan-2013 15:05

timmmay: He doesn't want your cat dead, he wants you to not get another cat when any current one dies.

While my thread title is a deliberate hyperbole, the following from his 'Cats to Go' website FAQ section doesn't exactly agree:

[Q] So are you suggesting that I just go out and have my cat euthanised?

[A] Not necessarily but that is an option.....

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sidefx

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#748872 22-Jan-2013 15:06

Never going to happen and even trying makes him look a bit nutty (unless it's some sort of joke or hoax...?) but I guess I can see where he's coming from: Our cat perfectly fits the "sadists and natural-born killers" label with regards to birds (and then enjoys leaving them as trophies or offerings, sometimes very well dismembered for us to find)

Snakes are kept as pets in many countries and we seem to get by without them...

I love some of the outraged comments on that story though! :D

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JokezNZ

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#748873 22-Jan-2013 15:07

ajobbins: many parts of Australia also have by-laws requiring cats be kept inside at night.

I find this rather funny.

ajobbins

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#748874 22-Jan-2013 15:08

JokezNZ:
ajobbins: many parts of Australia also have by-laws requiring cats be kept inside at night.

I find this rather funny.

How so?

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Finch

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#748877 22-Jan-2013 15:11

What an idiot he is with this statement. Cats eat birds. Humans eat other animals. Think he will be telling us all to go vegetarian next.

JokezNZ

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#748879 22-Jan-2013 15:12

ajobbins:
JokezNZ:
ajobbins: many parts of Australia also have by-laws requiring cats be kept inside at night.

I find this rather funny.

How so?

I think of all the problems of having my cat inside over night, and of someone late at night chasing around their cat outside to try get it inside. How is this by-law even monitored?

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