Right now, in the rural New Zealand farming community of North Canterbury, cats are being slaughtered for sport in a brutal hunting competition. The hunters call this ‘conservation;’ we call it barbaric, government-sanctioned cruelty.
Children of all ages are encouraged to catch and shoot cats, with cash prizes for the most felines killed.
Introduced to the island nation by early settlers and left to breed unchecked, New Zealand is home to millions of homeless cats. Forced to survive on their own, these innocent animals hunt native species – a human-caused situation that the hunters are using as an excuse for their bloodsports.
But the strawman of conservation quickly falls apart at the annual weigh-in, where hunters bring hundreds of animal corpses to try and claim the prizes. Here, hunters taunt animal rights protesters with dead cats and ferrets, dress up in outfits mocking local welfare movements, and drag dead animals through obstacle courses for ‘fun.’
Last year, facing international backlash, the hunt’s organizers restricted the cat-hunting category to those aged 14 and older. This year, the age restriction has been removed – now, if a child can hold a gun, the hunters will let them shoot cats.
Killing cats does nothing to protect local species. This is nothing more than a celebration of suffering and death.
The real tragedy is that the hunt won’t fix anything. As has been proven time and time again, killing cats simply creates a vacuum effect: More cats move in, taking advantage of the available resources and breeding indiscriminately, and the cycle of cruelty continues year after year.
Credit: Facebook/North Canterbury Hunting
There is a better way to protect both cats and native wildlife – and it works.
We’re fighting to end this horrific hunt by supporting humane, effective alternatives like Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) and rescue programs run by local heroes like our partner, Cat Rescue Christchurch.
But in a nation where even the government is slaughtering cats by the thousands, we need all the help we can get to save innocent animal lives.
Credit: James O’Dea
We have pleaded with the authorities to stop the hunt, but our protests have fallen on deaf ears. It is up to us to save these innocent creatures from death.
Your donation today is crucial to help us:
- Fund sterilisation drives to humanely control cat populations,
- Support rescue and rehoming efforts,
- Equip local groups like Cat Rescue Christchurch with the tools they need to save lives, and
- Campaign against cruel hunts and push for policy change that protects animals.
Conservation should never come at the cost of conscience. Cats deserve compassion, not cruelty.
Regular sterilization campaigns – rather than random, indiscriminate killings – are the most effective, sustainable and humane way to control cat populations. Credit: NFA/Byron Seale
We can’t allow this cruel hunt to continue. Not when we know there’s a better way. Not when lives are being lost – and others are working so hard to save them.
Please, help us save cats whose only crime was to be born without a home. Donate today.
