Gareth Morgan fires the first shot of WWIII

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

JANE BOWRON: Humans a bigger problem than cats

The Dominion Post | 7:15AM - Monday, 04 February 2013



I WAS only out of the country five minutes when I received alarmist texts about economist Gareth Morgan's Cats to Go campaign, and immediately imagined deep-fried cats with chips as the next on-trend Kiwi takeaway.

What had Morgan done to invoke such a pussy riot, I wondered, glad to know Benecio had a caregiver in my absence to watch over him should he be plucked from the property by opportunistic fast-food operators.

I had already decided that Benecio is my last pet and out of respect for the great soul that he is, will not seek a replacement, but on my return was amused to read of Chairman Morgan's one-feline-not-to-be-replaced-when-it-carks-it policy.

Good luck with that flawed idea, I thought, knowing full well how hard it is to turn down a cat's purrsistant advances.

Humans can make their laws but a cat's will, will out. Rue the day a council bylaw, or a DOC decree comes between a cat and its caregiver. It could result in violent protest, as it did back in 60BC when a Roman soldier mistakenly ran his chariot over a cat and was set upon by an outraged mob of Egyptians who, in spite of a plea for calm from Ptolemy XII, mercilessly did him in.

Back then it didn't matter if you killed a cat on purpose or by happenstance; the offending human was immediately put to death. Cats were revered and treated as living gods for their skill at killing mice and venomous snakes. So great was the esteem cats were held in that when an Egyptian household cat died the family shaved their eyebrows off as a mark of respect.

Cats are the No.1 serial killer of wildlife, Morgan claimed on Campbell Live, where he accused the executive director of SPCA, Bob Kerridge, of running a pro-cat organisation at the expense of other animals.

While Morgan has chosen to spend his philanthropic dollars on overseas charities rather than at home, he has been sufficiently moved by the depletion of local wildlife to pledge $5 to the SPCA if Kerridge euthanases every feral cat.

Neutering is not enough, Morgan says, encouraging those living next to a household with a cat to bundle it up and take it to the mayor's office if it crosses their boundary line. The mayor can examine the moggy and if it is registered and microchipped it should be granted one of its nine lives back and returned to its owner. If it isn't, it should forthwith be executed.

So callous is Morgan that he has called for all cats to be kept inside or in a caged enclosure, and advised New Zealanders to stop donating money to the SPCA till it stops its cat-centric ways.

If he is really intent on declaring war then instead of donating $5 towards the destruction of felines, he might push that five bucks towards arming the birds to even up the odds.

Morgan maintains New Zealand's biggest asset is our "natural capital" and that we should "monetise" it, so imagine the delight of future touring Americans, who vehemently believe in the right to bear arms, at seeing gun-toting wildlife, blazing bullets from their beaks at predatory cats.

Picking on cats is an easy mark. The real destroyers and predators are toxic humans who've had it too good for too long and seem unable to collectively work together to stop the rot.

Surely incentives should be given to those who've decided not to breed and put the planet further in peril and out of whack. I'd be happy to donate to that.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/8258690/Humans-a-bigger-problem-than-cats

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Removing cats won't save our birds

BOB BROCKIE — WORLD OF SCIENCE

The Dominion Post | 7:34AM - Monday, 04 February 2013


ENEMY WITHIN: Beware of the cat. — Photo: REUTERS.

GARETH MORGAN wants to rid the country of cats because they kill our bird — this sounds reasonable but New Zealand scientists have evidence to show this would be futile and dangerous.

Unknown to most people, three acclaimed world experts on animal predator/prey relationships live, or lived in the Hutt Valley — Mike Fitzgerald, John Flux and the late John Gibb — all former population biologists in the now-defunct Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

These scientists spent decades investigating feral cats, rats and rabbits in the Rimutaka bush, suburban Melling and on Wairarapa farmland and none would agree with Dr Morgan's views.

Setting thousands of traps, Dr Fitzgerald calculated the number of cats and rats in the Orongorongo Valley for 23 years. The cats held the rat numbers in check for years but when cat numbers fell, the rat population shot up. The cats also held the riverbed rabbits in check and their population also shot up when the cats disappeared.

Dr Flux logged everything his cat Peng You brought to his Melling house for 17 years. The cat brought home 558 little victims which included 53 native birds (mainly silvereyes) and 151 foreign birds (such as blackbirds and sparrows). Peng You never killed tui or New Zealand pigeons. Indeed, these species established themselves on the Melling property during his time there. More to the point, Peng You killed 63 rats, 221 mice, 35 rabbits, and two weasels during his 17-year lifetime. Rats and weasels are much more effective predators than ground-based cats as they climb trees to eat birds' eggs and chicks in the nest and also eat the flowers, fruit, berries and seed before the birds can eat them.

Following Peng You's demise, rabbit numbers shot up round the Melling property. On balance, Dr Flux thinks his cat, and probably other suburban cats, actually benefited native bird populations by killing so many of their more numerous predators. Forest & Birders argue that this is heresy and claimed that he could not argue from a sample of one cat. Dr Flux counters that his was a sample, not of one anything, but of 558 prey items.

In a two-year trial in the Wairarapa in the 1960s, Dr Gibb showed that cats were more effective than pest destruction boards in controlling rabbits. To prove his point, Dr Gibb persuaded the board to stop shooting rabbits on 1200 hectares of hill pasture and scrub for three years. At the end of that time there were fewer rabbits there than on the adjacent shot-over land.

Our scientists proved that, if we get rid of cats, other predators such as fast-breeding rats, stoats, weasels and ferrets will fill the ecological gap. Their take-home message is that if we want to save our birds we must eliminate the whole "suite of predators". This has happened on Kapiti, Little Barrier and Tiritiri Islands, the Karori Sanctuary and other "mainland islands".

Only on these cat — and other predator-free islands do native birds, bats, lizards and insects really flourish.

Oops! Our cat has just brought in a baby rabbit.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/8258705/Removing-cats-won-t-save-our-birds

[reality]

no..maybe its going to be.....North Korea


NZ condemns North Korean nuclear test

UPDATED7:41 PM Tuesday Feb 12, 2013 

North Korea's Kaepoong military guard post, right bottom, as seen from the the other side of the border. Photo / AP
North Korea's third successful detonation of a nuclear device has been condemned by Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully.

The detonation was the third since North Korea began testing in 2006, defying UN Security Council orders to shut down atomic activity or face more sanctions.

Mr McCully said North Korea continued to "blatantly defy" United Nations Security Council resolutions

"That is of deep concern and represents a significant threat to peace and security in the region.

"North Korea is in breach of its international obligations and its recent action flies in the face of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, to which New Zealand is strongly committed.

"The international community must send a strong message to North Korea that this path is a dead end. New Zealand stands ready to support timely and significant action by the UNSC in response to this latest test."

North Korea successfully detonated the miniaturized nuclear device at a northeastern test site today, state media said.

The underground explosion could take North Korea a big step closer to its goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile that could threaten the United States.


Official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with "outrageous'' U.S. hostility that "violently'' undermines the North's peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites. North Korea faced sanctions after a December launch of a rocket the U.N. and Washington called a cover for a banned missile test.

The North said it used a "lighter, miniaturized atomic bomb'' that still has more explosive force than past tests.

The United States Geological Survey said earlier Tuesday that it had detected a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in North Korea.

The nuclear test is North Korea's first since leader Kim Jong Un took power in December 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, and marks a bold statement for the young leader as he unveils his domestic and foreign policy for a country long estranged from the West.

Experts say regular tests are needed to perfect North Korea's goal of building nuclear warheads small enough to be placed on long-range missiles. This atomic test North Korea's third since 2006 is expected to take Pyongyang closer to possessing nuclear-tipped missiles designed to strike the United States.

- AP / Herald Online

[ssweetpea]

and there probably wasn't a cat in the vicinity

[reality]

...one would hope not....but alot more likely to be the first shot of WWIII

[Justic]

Removing cats won't save our birds

BOB BROCKIE — WORLD OF SCIENCE

The Dominion Post | 7:34AM - Monday, 04 February 2013


ENEMY WITHIN: Beware of the cat. — Photo: REUTERS.

GARETH MORGAN wants to rid the country of cats because they kill our bird — this sounds reasonable but New Zealand scientists have evidence to show this would be futile and dangerous.

Unknown to most people, three acclaimed world experts on animal predator/prey relationships live, or lived in the Hutt Valley — Mike Fitzgerald, John Flux and the late John Gibb — all former population biologists in the now-defunct Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

These scientists spent decades investigating feral cats, rats and rabbits in the Rimutaka bush, suburban Melling and on Wairarapa farmland and none would agree with Dr Morgan's views.

Setting thousands of traps, Dr Fitzgerald calculated the number of cats and rats in the Orongorongo Valley for 23 years. The cats held the rat numbers in check for years but when cat numbers fell, the rat population shot up. The cats also held the riverbed rabbits in check and their population also shot up when the cats disappeared.

Dr Flux logged everything his cat Peng You brought to his Melling house for 17 years. The cat brought home 558 little victims which included 53 native birds (mainly silvereyes) and 151 foreign birds (such as blackbirds and sparrows). Peng You never killed tui or New Zealand pigeons. Indeed, these species established themselves on the Melling property during his time there. More to the point, Peng You killed 63 rats, 221 mice, 35 rabbits, and two weasels during his 17-year lifetime. Rats and weasels are much more effective predators than ground-based cats as they climb trees to eat birds' eggs and chicks in the nest and also eat the flowers, fruit, berries and seed before the birds can eat them.

Following Peng You's demise, rabbit numbers shot up round the Melling property. On balance, Dr Flux thinks his cat, and probably other suburban cats, actually benefited native bird populations by killing so many of their more numerous predators. Forest & Birders argue that this is heresy and claimed that he could not argue from a sample of one cat. Dr Flux counters that his was a sample, not of one anything, but of 558 prey items.

In a two-year trial in the Wairarapa in the 1960s, Dr Gibb showed that cats were more effective than pest destruction boards in controlling rabbits. To prove his point, Dr Gibb persuaded the board to stop shooting rabbits on 1200 hectares of hill pasture and scrub for three years. At the end of that time there were fewer rabbits there than on the adjacent shot-over land.

Our scientists proved that, if we get rid of cats, other predators such as fast-breeding rats, stoats, weasels and ferrets will fill the ecological gap. Their take-home message is that if we want to save our birds we must eliminate the whole "suite of predators". This has happened on Kapiti, Little Barrier and Tiritiri Islands, the Karori Sanctuary and other "mainland islands".

Only on these cat — and other predator-free islands do native birds, bats, lizards and insects really flourish.

Oops! Our cat has just brought in a baby rabbit.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/8258705/Removing-cats-won-t-save-our-birds

that puddie tat is gorgeous 

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

nothing a few cats wont fix

There used to be a heap of feral cats infesting the railway yards in Masterton until a few weeks ago. Now they are all gone.

A large colony of Pukekos moved into the railway yards and are living in a drain that runs along the rear of the property, then passes beneath the southwestern end of the yard and runs alongside the main line towards Carterton for a short distance before disappearing into a housing area. For some reason, that drain never appears to run dry, possibly because there is a spring somewhere feeding into it. As a result the drain is lush with vegetation. Anyway, I'm guessing that the Pukekos were forced from somewhere else due to the lack of water (Wairarapa is extremely dry at the moment) and they obviously discovered the drain adjacent to the railway yards. There appear to be at least 40-50 Pukekos in the colony and one of the first things they did upon moving in was to terrorise all of the wild pussycats and staunch them out so much (ganging up on them in large numbers) that the cats have all buggered off. Then, the Pukekos also got rid of the resident Magpies. Now they have the railway yards all to themselves (apart from the trains and the humans who work there).

It's also interesting that the Pukekos have been expanding their territory. An elderly lady who lives about four doors down the road from the Masterton Railway Station tells me that the Pukekos have also been terrorising her cat and her neighbour's cats. They can be bloody agressive about their territory.

[sickofpollies]

If want visible proof of birds picking on cats, it would be hard to top this one!

[nitpicker1]

Gareth Morgan to push for 'confined cat' suburb
 
Published: 4:26PM Wednesday February 20, 2013 Source: ONE News
Email this article
Print this article
Text size + -




 

Gareth Morgan wants to see a cat-free New Zealand - Source: ONE News


Watch Video


 Morgan calls for cats to be wiped out (1:51) .
 

Related
 Cat lovers launch online campaign against Gareth Morgan video
Gareth Morgan's anti-cat campaign goes global video
Scientist backs Gareth Morgan's cat claims video


Gareth Morgan is pressing on with his controversial campaign for a cat-free New Zealand by holding a public meeting in Wellington tonight.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/gareth-morgan-push-confined-cat-suburb-5346758

[Ferney]

He said a New Zealand without cats would be "a New Zealand teeming with native wildlife".

He meant to say "a NZ without cats would be a NZ teeming with rats and mice.

[reality]

...mmmm ....roast pidgeon

[nitpicker1]

He said a New Zealand without cats would be "a New Zealand teeming with native wildlife".

He meant to say "a NZ without cats would be a NZ teeming with rats and mice.[/size]

The trouble with Gareth Morgan is that he should be banning RATS not CATS

selected and edited snippet comment from another site:

"Adrienne Livingston , a private ecological consultant and former ecology lecturer at Northland Polytechnic, is concerned about the number of half-eaten eggs and dead chicks she is finding strewn across her back yard."

"Livingston said she was only monitoring about four bird nests in her backyard, but evidence from the small sample size suggested ''total annihilation''.

Localised to cat owners backyards?
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/9531706/Raglan-cat-killings-annihilate-local-birdlife

(implying cats killed 'em?)  lol

the trouble with selected snippets is that not enough readers check the content of the linked stories that the selected snippets come from, the full content of this link tells us of an alternative predator.  

 

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

   (click on the picture to read the news story)




               (click on the cartoon to read an earlier news story)

[dragontamer]

To be fair, Invercargill's problem has more to do with mental health issues than cats per se.  Cats are obviously the outcome of the issues, but without addressing the cause the problem is not going to go away.  And really is unfair on the poor cats caught up in her mental illness.

[Alicat]

To be fair, Invercargill's problem has more to do with mental health issues than cats per se.  Cats are obviously the outcome of the issues, but without addressing the cause the problem is not going to go away.  And really is unfair on the poor cats caught up in her mental illness.

Agree.

[nitpicker1]

Seems the Invercargill City and Gareth Morgan have opened the proverbial can of worms



VID

Cat lady puts up a fight
Brooke Gardiner 3 News Reporter
By Brooke Gardiner
Reporter

Saturday 15 Mar 2014 6:10p.m.


377 Comments

http://www.3news.co.nz/Cat-lady-puts-up-a-fight/tabid/423/articleID/336045/Default.aspx#ixzz2wjQDM3go

Fire damages home and destroys garage   
 
 Family dog rescued, cats still missing
 LAUREN HAYES   
Last updated 05:00 21/03/2014

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/9851658/Fire-damages-home-and-destroys-garage

the Callum family is the cats place. 

and it doesn't take much brains to figger that out cos the name of one of the neighbours who was interviewed was published in the vid - now who will be copping the fallout?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Put Louis Crimp on the job.

He'll sort the situation out.... 

[nitpicker1]

Put Louis Crimp on the job.

He'll sort the situation out.... 

nemmind about Louis, someone dunnit already.