Feral cats beware

24/5/2009

The dumping of domestic cats in remote places on Otago Peninsula is threatening the area’s ‘‘very precious’’ wildlife and Cape Saunders farmer Dave McKay (1975-77) is on the prowl.

Dave is one of a number of people who look after endangered species on the Otago Peninsula who are worried about their safety as the wild cat population increases greatly.

Cape Saunders farmer Dave McKay keeps an eye out for wild cats which prey on the yellow-eyed penguins and other birds that live on the beach and slopes below

Yellow eyed penguins are a particular and vital tourism attraction on the peninsula and in 2007 were estimated to add $100 million or more to the Dunedin economy on an annual basis.

The Department of Conservation programme manager for biodiversity assets, David Agnew, said feral cats could also impact on wildlife such as small burrowing sea birds, like sooty shearwaters, as well as skinks and geckos and he urged people to think twice before dumping their cats with the likelihood they – the cats – could end up shot or trapped.

Dave has been looking after a yellow-eyed penguin colony on Little Papanui beach, on his farm, for 30 years. This season, about 100 of the penguins made his beach home, as well as some blue penguins. In the past 15 months he had trapped or shot 23 cats, of which half were domestic cats. He had others in his sights.

The penguin breeding season on his property this year had been quite successful, with only one nest lost to predation, which he believes cats had destroyed.

He believed the domestic cats had been dumped on the property by ‘‘irresponsible’’ owners because it was ‘‘out of the way’’ and noted he has no hesitation in protecting the wildlife.

A case of the penguins first, the cats a distant second.