Conservation organisation Southern Lakes Sanctuary is calling for the inclusion of all feral cats in the government’s Predator Free 2050 strategy.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary is a consortium of six local groups (and representing many more) who share the goal of increasing native wildlife and reducing introduced pests.

“We are trying to decrease the widespread population of wild, feral cats which are destroying our endangered birds and reptiles,” Southern Lakes Sanctuary project director Paul Kavanagh said.

Urgent funding is required to humanely control feral cats, he said.

“The reproductive potential of a single female cat is estimated at 300 kittens in her reproductive lifetime,” Paul said. 

“This means the feral cat population is increasing significantly every week.”

The feral cat population is self-sustaining – they do not rely on humans to survive and are generally located in remote areas. Male feral cats captured in the South Island high country usually weigh about 3.75kg but can weigh up to 10kg.

Paul said it was important to distinguish these wild, feral cats from others.

“We are absolutely not talking about domestic, companion cats here, or stray cats, which depend on ad-hoc human interaction.”

The Southern Lakes Sanctuary humanely captures and dispatches feral cats in Southern Lakes, a skilled task only undertaken by staff who have extensive training, and Paul said Southern Lakes Sanctuary is careful not to endanger any domestic cats.

“Some of our traps have a daytime excluder to reduce the likelihood of catching pets, and we are investigating getting a microchip feature which would override the trap if detected,” he said.

“We also focus on live trapping to mitigate the potential risk to companion cats, and we meet with local homeowners to see what their companion cats look like. However, we are trapping in remote areas where the risk of encountering a companion cat is extremely low.”

The government has confirmed a review of the Predator Free 2050 strategy will take place in 2024 under public consultation and the inclusion of feral cats would generate more funding to enable Southern Lakes Sanctuary to increase resources and continue its conservation work, Paul said.

PHOTO: Supplied