Sign In / Register
Auckland Council has been urged to do its job in protecting the seabirds and their chicks on Omaha Spit, which are being decimated by cats.
Speaking on behalf of the Omaha Beach Residents Society and Omaha Shorebird Protection Trust, Richard Brabant told council’s planning, environment and parks committee meeting last week that unless council extended the predator-proof fence to the low water line in Whangateau Harbour and allowed live cat capture in the Omaha Shorebird Sanctuary, dotterel and variable oystercatcher populations were doomed.
He also asked for the status of the reserve to be changed so council could close the reserve during the breeding season.
“Otherwise, the whole point of the sanctuary and the investment made to date will be a wasted exercise,” he said.
While council agreed to refer the issue to its chief of strategy for further investigation, Rodney’s Cr Greg Sayers said that this was not enough.
“I think it’s pretty clear that there is a high degree of frustration,” Sayers said. “There is a fear that things won’t happen quickly enough.”
Other councillors said the problem of cat predation was not isolated to Omaha.
Cr Chris Darby said if a cat came onto his rural property [not in Auckland] and it found a trap, it was dead, along with stoats, possums and rats.
“Last night, thousands of native birds [in Auckland] were destroyed by cats,” he said.
“This is a huge issue and it is destroying the native birdlife of Tamaki Makarau.
“Our animal control bylaw is all about the impact on human beings and nothing about the impact on the natural environment. We’ve missed the plot.
“We have bylaws for dogs, roosters, horses and all kinds of animals where they impact on humans, but the rules have no teeth when it comes to protecting nature.”
Mayor Wayne Brown said if these were dogs killing kiwis, the dogs would be killed.
“What is it about cats that they get special treatment?” Brown asked. “There’s no shortage of cats, but at some stage we will run out of wildlife.
“I support the extension of the fence, but I’d rather just kill the bloody things.”
