New Zealand feral cat killing competition for children axed after backlash

A contest in New Zealand for youngsters to hunt and kill feral cats has been scrapped following public outcry.

Organisers of an annual searching competitors prompted an uproar once they introduced a brand new class for youngsters beneath 14 to hunt feral cats for a prime prize of $NZ250 ($230).

The class, which got here with a warning for kids to not kill pets, has been scrapped, organisers stated in a press release on Tuesday.

New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) stated it was “each happy and relieved that the youngsters’s class which concerned taking pictures feral cats has been eliminated”.

“Youngsters, in addition to adults, won’t be able to inform the distinction between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat,” stated an SPCA spokesperson.

The general competitors, which goes forward with different classes for searching wild pigs and deer, is being run as a fundraiser by the Rotherham College within the nation’s South Island.

Organisers stated “vile and inappropriate emails” had been despatched “to the varsity and others concerned”.

“Our sponsors and college security are our fundamental precedence, so the choice has been made to withdraw this class for this 12 months to keep away from additional backlash,” organisers wrote on Fb.

Many customers on the Fb web page appeared sad with the transfer.

“Feral cats unfold many ailments similar to stoats, ferrets, opossums, and these ailments are very dangerous to your home cats, and livestock, they should be culled,” one wrote.

One other posted: “Bloody unhappy state of affairs. Do these folks actually consider these feral cats are cute and cuddly.”

Feral cats are a pest in New Zealand the place they’ve a significant affect on native birds, bats, lizards, mice and bugs, in keeping with the Division of Conservation.

AFP/ABC