He supported culling feral cats, but not in a way that would allow such mistakes to be made, Nairn said. This was inexcusable and could easily have been avoided.

“This fiasco clearly shows the trust’s intentions to not inform pet owners and rid the area of ​​(pet) cats.”

“This animal was microchipped, desexed and was a healthy pet.”

He rejected the trust’s excuse that it could not afford microchip scanner because it costs $900. Much cheaper models were available, Nairn said.

“I think it would be a priority tool, especially if trust is to be established in residential areas,” he said.

The trust said cheaper scanners would not allow staff to check on a cat remotely and handling cats would pose a health and safety risk.

Cat control in New Zealand has long been a point of contention. Although cats are a major predator in the wild, New Zealand has no legislation to manage them. Tterritorial authorities can impose orders but these generally aim to reduce the nuisance caused by cats in the domestic context.

Cats were considered too controversial to be included on a list of harmful species in the Government strategy “Predator-free 2050”launched in 2016. However, this could change after a public consultation and review next year.

Environmentalists generally believed in the eradication of feral cats. However, in recent years these efforts have been thwarted by a growing number of well-meaning community groups who have been running “trap-neutral-return and supply” programs for feral cats and abandoned pets – an approach that many conservationists condemn because they believe it would not reduce the predation risk posed by cats in the wild.

The trust said it had no previous policy regarding cats. The number of cats in the reserve was relatively low thanks to current and past trapping work. However, since the Rambo incident, the reserve had formulated a policy that it was almost ready to approve.

According to the draft, the trust is “committed to managing the tension between conservation and cats”.

“Domestic cats are not our target and we understand that people have pet cats that are loved and cherished. We believe that pet cats should be well cared for and kept at home,” the policy states.

“We need to balance the benefits of owning a pet with the impact these animals have on nature. »

The trust said that, like many conservation projects in New Zealand, it used humane death traps to control rodents, possums and mustelids, as well as feral cats.

The traps would only be used on the reserve and at the Ocean Beach Recreation Reserve, for which the trust was also responsible.

The owners of any pet cats killed or captured alive in these traps would be contacted, if possible.

As part of its policy, the trust also kept a register of pet cats. He had mailboxed 105 residential properties bordering the reserve since Urquharts Bay to Bream Headasking cat owners to send electronic images of their pets.

“This will allow us to alert the owner when their cat begins to appear on cameras in the reserveor if it was captured inside the reserve,” the trust said.

He said the initiative had received a good response. However, Nairn said this represented “more unnecessary bureaucracy”; there were other, simpler precautions the trust should take.

Sarah Curtis is a journalist for the Defender of the Northfocusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years of experience in journalism, much of it as a court reporter. She’s passionate about covering stories that make a difference