A New Zealand hunting competition has prompted uproar over a new category where children compete to kill as many feral cats as possible for a cash prize.
The North Canterbury Hunting Competition announced the new category on Saturday, where children 14 and under will hunt feral cats for the possibility of a $250 prize.
Prospective entrants were warned that killing anyone’s beloved pet would see them expelled from the running: any children who produced dead microchipped cats would have their entire entry disqualified.
Animal rights campaigners, however, do not believe this safeguard will be sufficient. “Disqualifying dead cats with microchips is too little too late,” said Will Appelbe, spokesperson for animal rights group SAFE. “It’s not even an ambulance, but a grave at the bottom of the cliff.”
The Canterbury SPCA said in a statement it was “extremely concerned”.
“There is a good chance someone’s pet may be killed during this event,” they said. “In addition, children often use air rifles in these sorts of events which increase the likelihood of pain and distress, and can cause a prolonged death.”
Feral – and domestic – cats are a serious threat to biodiversity and native wildlife in New Zealand. They eat endangered native birds and eggs, lizards, bats and insects. The issue of their control has previously been a heated political matter: in 2013, political campaigner and founder of the Opportunities Party Gareth Morgan made headlines when he called for all of New Zealand’s cats to be eradicated, and dubbed them “natural-born killers” and “sadists of the animal kingdom”.
Department of Conservation principal scientist Craig Gillies said the department “supports control of feral cats, provided it is undertaken by experienced people using approved humane methods,” but noted that “feral and domesticated cats are the same species [and] determining a difference between the two is virtually impossible.”
North Canterbury Hunting Competition did not reply to a request for comment. In 2022, it attracted more than 250 child entrants, and about 650 adults. Last year, the children killed 427 animals – mostly possums, hares, and rabbits. This is the first year that cats have been a competitive category. The competition is organised to raise money for a local school and pool.
“There are numerous ways to raise money,” Appelbe said. “Sending children off to kill cats shouldn’t be one of them.”