Public Address | Cafe | Envirologue: Branding a Post-Predator Dream – the Language of Extirpation

Amanda Wreckonwith

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:58:56 +1200

That equation is also complicated...
From my own perspective, the farm I live on had no pet cats prior to me buying it. We were surrounded by surprising amount of bird life. 3 years later a stray cat (probably dumped) turned up and became part of the family. The bird…

izogi

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:51:37 +1200

Ah. Yeah I get what you mean. Taranaki in particular has a big lobby from the local mountain running community. It's always been a huge place for harriers clubs and similar, and they often enjoy nicely groomed tracks, so I don't think DOC's too concered about providing and attributing that…

Amanda Wreckonwith

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:30:42 +1200

Not sure what Halo are up to. It's not difficult to target stoats and weasels. DOC 200 or 250 are highly unlikely to get a cat. The Goodnature gas traps are also safe around pet cats as far as I know. Trapping mustelids is rather tricky so good luck!

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:23:04 +1200

Taranaki, Tongariro and a bunch of other places. OK, I exaggerate, but we have a pretty high standard of path in a lot of places. Certainly compared to the rather beautiful and completely unimproved "pathway" in the pic I posted.

Bart Janssen

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:17:17 +1200

I favour the approach of regulation of breeding, keeping and sale of cats.

Also I agree with this. I can’t see any reason why cats shouldn’t be treated similarly to dogs, at the very least re licensing and registration.

Absolutely! We love our SPCA moggys. But there is no way…

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:13:52 +1200

1. All pet cats must be neutered and microchipped.
2. Cats can only be sold by licensed breeders
3. All cats for sale must be neutered, microchipped and new owners placed on a register.
4. Any cat trapped that is not microchipped should be euthanised (unless the cat owning community…

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 09:10:53 +1200

I can’t see any reason why cats shouldn’t be treated similarly to dogs, at the very least re licensing and registration.
...and think of the money to be made through such a scheme!

izogi

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 08:55:15 +1200

Sorting out the feral cat issue in NZ will be a long and expensive process. I favour the approach of regulation of breeding, keeping and sale of cats.

Also I agree with this. I can't see any reason why cats shouldn't be treated similarly to dogs, at the very least…

izogi

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 08:50:33 +1200

Cool. Yeah, I phrased badly but also thanks. I’m not too concerned about traps which kill commonly accepted predators. More about a trap in my back-yard accidentally dispatching all of the neighbours valued feline family members from all sides. Whatever I might think of domestic cats, I don’t really want…

Amanda Wreckonwith

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 08:38:43 +1200

Do the traps basically kill stuff, or are there alternatives?
From a rural perspective, live trapping is problematic. Feral cats are very nasty critters indeed. Live capture leaves you with a spitfire of fur, teeth and claws that bears no resemblance to Tibbles in a cat basket.
With the tabby…

izogi

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 00:04:45 +1200

I do think that by building wooden boardwalks a metre wide and fitted with handrails over a large chunk of the conservation estate, DoC have created an expectation that everywhere will comply with this minimum standard.

If you don't mind me asking, which chunks are you thinking of?

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 18:46:31 +1200

Bloody looxury lad...

Yamis

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 18:37:36 +1200

the track from Te Henga to Constable Rd at Muriwai in sections looks like it hasn’t seen maintenance for a decade and counting….

It recently benefited from some modest maintenance in advance of the Hillary Ultra Marathon (mostly hacking back the flaxes that were overgrowing the trail in many places)…

izogi

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:37:13 +1200

In related news, Simon Mercep interviewed Dr Mike Dickison a few minutes ago about the charismatic side of conservation, who pointed out some of the issues around us being obsessed with saving the cute birds at the expense of real biodiversity and uniqueness. He also makes some interesting points about…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:25:26 +1200

I'm not the one who suggested forcing (through the threat of violence, on which all public coercion ultimately rests) "every 18 year old [to] spend 12 months in a conservation army" .

That sounds like involuntary servitude to me, however you spell it.

Johnny Canuck

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:50:00 +1200

the track from Te Henga to Constable Rd at Muriwai in sections looks like it hasn’t seen maintenance for a decade and counting….

It recently benefited from some modest maintenance in advance of the Hillary Ultra Marathon (mostly hacking back the flaxes that were overgrowing the trail in many places)…

izogi

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:38:36 +1200

We joined the Halo protect, which was set up by Gareth Morgan.

Do the traps basically kill stuff, or are there alternatives? We recently shifted to Crofton Downs (on the far side of Otari Wilton's) and I've been thinking about joining. The neighbourhood still seems to have a few cats,…

izogi

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 12:34:38 +1200

My dad was on the DOC board in the late 90s. He left the board after a year saying to me that it was (to paraphrase) an under funded shambles.

I wouldn’t disagree with this, but DOC in the 90s was a mess as a whole. (It’s hard to say…

Tom Semmens

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 08:57:24 +1200

How about we also plant a bit of cotton (I'm sure someplace in NZ has the climate for it) and set up an antebellum style system of agriculture using teenagers in place of Black people.

Because my idea is JUST LIKE slavery.

You idiot.

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 08:25:12 +1200

sobering stuff...

Yamis

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 23:20:08 +1200

My dad was on the DOC board in the late 90s. He left the board after a year saying to me that it was (to paraphrase) an under funded shambles. He was in a similar role in the ARC at the time (and for many years before and after) and…

andin

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 18:20:19 +1200

Cats or wildlife?
Sorry but thats a false dichotomy.
And while I agree with Gareth Morgan about cats being registered. There are already people who take matters into their own hands, and not in a good way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6F2l61o6ns

Joe Wylie

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 17:39:02 +1200

...why not have every 18 year old spend 12 months in a conservation army. Imagine 70,000 plus young people trapping, poisoning, shooting, cleaning, replanting, weeding, spying on dirty dairying, standing sentry on individual Kakapo…

AND in their spare time they could learn civics, visit old people
You floated something like…

izogi

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:58:08 +1200

Feral cats, cats in reserve areas (or adjoining reserves) are one thing, but city cats are another.

I guess it can also come down to what sort of environments people want to live in, with or without dedicated reserves nearby.

When living in Melbourne I noticed how common it is…

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:17:18 +1200

How about we also plant a bit of cotton (I'm sure someplace in NZ has the climate for it) and set up an antebellum style system of agriculture using teenagers in place of Black people. Teach em a bit of respect...

Bart Janssen

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:12:12 +1200

Humans are quite the pest species

So the question is, do you want to restore the ecology to its original state? If the answer is yes then you probably have to eliminate humans from the environment as well.

Given that is unlikely to be a viable option the question becomes…

Tom Semmens

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 15:55:42 +1200

Let's park the moggy business for a little while. Because if we are planning to fight a war on pests, then we'll need to mobilise an army to do it – which we can't afford. Unless we introduce conscription – why not have every 18 year old spend 12 months…

Lilith __

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 15:20:41 +1200

I can’t understand why Gareth Morgan has taken this line about urban moggies. Feral cats, cats in reserve areas (or adjoining reserves) are one thing, but city cats are another. Why antagonise people like this? We know there’s evidence of net benefit to birdlife from pet cats in some urban…

izogi

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:20:10 +1200

Thanks for writing this, David.

I've become faintly optimistic seeing the recent proposals for a predator free New Zealand. As recently as a few years ago, even suggesting such an idea would immediately attract derision about it being an impossibility due to the scale. But now there are actual numbers…

Idiot Savant

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:13:22 +1200

That’s because one person’s pest is another’s recreational resource, stuffed trophy or even their prime income.

Or family. Just to make it clear what's on the line here.

Public Address

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:13:22 +1200

Discussion from blog post.