School tackles feral cats

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

A Rangiora school plans to tackle a feral cat problem over the school holidays.

Rangiora New Life School is calling in the professionals to trap some cats, which have been living under classrooms, scavenging rubbish bins and children’s lunch boxes, setting off alarms, and posing a threat to local birdlife.

"We have two or three feral cats that we are concerned about and we want to make sure that they are OK," principal Stephen Walters said.

"I’m a cat lover myself and the last thing I want to see is cats which are unwell, not getting enough to eat and freezing over the winter."

He said the trapping company had the ability to scan the cats, with the microchipped cats to be released or returned to their homes.

Cats without chips would be passed on to a cat shelter to be checked and rehomed.

"I can assure everyone they will all be treated humanely," Walters said.

"This is not a good place for them to be and we want to make sure they can find a home and be looked after."

The threat to birdlife had been particularly concerning, he said.

"We’ve already had a clutch of ducklings killed by the cats and that was quite distressing for the children."

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