Backlash ends New Zealand children's feral cat-killing competition

A cat-hunting competition for children in New Zealand has been cancelled due to outcry against the event.

The annual hunt's organisers were criticised after announcing a new category for those under 14 to hunt feral cats, reports BBC.

The animals are regarded as a threat to the biosecurity of the nation.

Children were instructed not to murder pets, but they were encouraged to kill as many feral cats as possible for a prize.

The child who committed the most murders between mid-April and the end of June would have been awarded $250 New Zealand dollars (£124; $155).

The event was immediately condemned by animal welfare organisations.

Tuesday, the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals expressed relief that the "children's category which involved shooting feral cats" would not proceed.

According to AFP, a representative argued that both children and adults would be unable to distinguish between "a feral, stray, or frightened domestic cat."

There were concerns that this would result in unintentional cat deaths, adds the BBC report.

"We should be teaching our tamariki [children] empathy towards animals, not handing them the tools to kill them," a spokesman for the animal welfare charity Safe told local media outlet 1News.

The hunt was announced as part of a June fundraiser for a local school in North Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand, a predominantly rural region where hunting is popular.

Each year, hundreds of participants, including children, compete to shoot wild pigs, deer, and hares.

Tuesday, the North Canterbury Hunting Competition announced the cancellation of the cat event, citing "vile and inappropriate emails" as the reason.

The group wrote on Facebook, "We are disappointed and apologise to those who were excited to be involved in protecting our native birds and other vulnerable species."

In addition, they emphasised that anyone participating in their expeditions must adhere to firearms and animal welfare laws.

The post garnered more than 100 user comments, the majority of which supported the event. People stated that the search may have been a "controlled cull."

One local wrote, "If only people knew the damage wild cats cause around the place."

"They also [have] an effect on our farming. Wild cats carry diseases... we will just keep shooting them for as long as we keep seeing them," she concluded.

There are an estimated 1,2 million domestic cats and more than double that number of feral cats in New Zealand.

In New Zealand, where these animals pose a significant threat to native species, measures to control their population are the subject of a heated debate.

The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, the largest conservation organisation in New Zealand, estimates that feral cats are responsible for the annual mortality of up to 1.1 million native birds and tens of millions of non-native birds.

Dr Helen Blackie, a biosecurity expert, told Radio New Zealand that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species as well as the population decline of bats, frogs, and reptiles.

They are also known to carry toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that has had a significant impact on the New Zealand livestock industry.

Dr Blackie also stated that there are no monitoring or control measures in place for feral cats in Canterbury, as they are not explicitly classified as a pest.