Full Breakdown
Canterbury Cat Hunting Competition Sparks Call for Ban
By Drooid · · How we work
Event Overview
The Great Mid Canterbury Critter Competition, running from Friday to Sunday, includes a feral-cat category with prizes for the largest cat in three age groups. Open to children 16 and under under adult supervision, the event allows participants to hunt feral cats, possums, rabbits, hares, rats, mustelids and hedgehogs across Canterbury with landowner permission. Organisers say the competition raises funds for the Mayfield Community Pool heating project and aims to encourage rural families to discuss pests, biodiversity and environmental stewardship.
Advocacy and Opposition
Anne Batley Burton, founder and chair of a cat-welfare charity, argues that companion, stray and displaced cats are being killed alongside feral animals. The charity seeks to restrict feral-cat control to licensed or certified pest-control professionals and to expand support for humane alternatives such as Trap-Neuter-Return programmes.
Government and Agency Responses
She notes that DoC’s predator-control guidance incorporates measures to minimise risk to companion cats and that emerging technology, such as traps with microchip readers, could further reduce accidental killings. Glen Burrell, Director of Compliance and Response for the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), states that feral-cat management on conservation land is the responsibility of DoC, while MPI’s role under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 focuses on ensuring any killing is humane and that breaches of animal-welfare rules would trigger appropriate action.
Data and Impact
The charity claims that roughly 1,000 cats have been killed in recent hunting competitions and that reports of missing companion cats have increased during these events. Organisers emphasize that participants are instructed to leave any cat they are unsure is feral alone.
Verbatim Quotes
- “While there is a small risk of misidentification whenever free-roaming cats are encountered, DoC takes a precautionary approach and requires operational decisions to be informed by multiple sources of information.” — Andrea Goodman, predator-free manager
- “This competition is about doing something rural families already do, but using it as an opportunity to get kids outdoors and talking about pests, biodiversity and looking after our environment.” — Deborah Gilkison, event spokeswoman