New Zealand is implementing a plan to completely eliminate wild cats by 2050. The country's government officially included them in the "Without Predators - 2050" program, and Tama Potaka emphasized that this is a new stage in nature conservation. Previously, the list included rats, stoats, ferrets, laces, and opossums. Now the list of harmful species to be eliminated has expanded again.
Wild cats entered the country primarily through Europeans and were formed over time as a result of the domestication of domestic cats. They are estimated to kill approximately 1.12 million birds annually - causing the extinction of many local species. Today, there are more than 2.5 million wild cats in the country, and in some regions their impact has reached the level of an ecological catastrophe.
The government has already started measures against this type in some regions, but now a large-scale and robust strategy will be implemented. For example, a sharp decline in bat populations around Stewart Island and Ruapeju has been observed due to cats. According to Potaka, strict control of cats, along with other harmful predators, is necessary to restore biodiversity.
Previously, the public strongly opposed this idea, but now the majority of the population - about 90 percent - supports the inclusion of wild cats in the list. Although domestic cats are outside the strategy, organizations such as SPCA and Predator Free Trust are pushing for requirements such as mandatory microchipping, sterilization, and keeping at home.
For New Zealand, this initiative is seen not only as an ecological necessity, but also as a mission to preserve the heritage of rare birds and animals.
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