Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats. They adored and revered the love-able little felines so much, in fact, that cats were often buried with their owners. There are monuments and stories commemorating cats among that culture, so it’s no real mystery that the rest of the world eventually fell in love with domesticated felines too. In fact, even though dogs are “man’s best friend,” cats outnumber dogs as pets in many countries around the world.
There’s someone in New Zealand, however, doesn’t share that love of cats! It’s a not so famous economist Gareth Morgan. According to the bird-loving extremists, all cats in the country should be eradicated to allow the beautiful landscape to become a safe haven for creatures of the avian persuasion. Not surprisingly, people are up in arms about the woman’s crusade to oust cats forever.
New Zealand: Highest Number of Cat Lovers
Oddly enough, New Zealand is actually one of the countries with the highest number of cat lovers, with nearly 1 in every 2 households owning at least one feline. There are so many cats in New Zealand, local scientists grudgingly admit the cats have likely contributed to the extinction of at least 6 native bird species.
But instead of getting rid of cats, maybe people should look at keeping pets in moderation. Yes, each household that wants a cat should be able to have one; but what about the places where there are five or more cats? Some people love animals so much they think they can share their homes with a dozen of the little animals. Yes, these people are often found dead in piles of their own filth accumulated from years of hoarding, but they are also creating an over-population of cats.
And then there’s the whole neutering process to consider. It’s not that complicated nowadays to get a male cat neutered; you don’t even have to do the females as long as you do all of the males. Animal control starts with the animals. If every pet owner took a class on the topic before they were allowed to own a pet, so many bird species would be saved, and a number of abandoned pets would be spared.
And eliminating cats or outlawing them will not stop the population. Cats are smart and small, a combination of two very dangerous characteristics. Most cats can survive on their own, hunting and sleeping when and where they want. It wouldn’t take much for a population of cats to become feral, and then New Zealand would have to worry about vicious cats attacking children and other pets, rather than just house cats going after the bird population.