Department of Conservation to roll out online permit system to trap feral cats

Trapping feral cats on conservation land will become easier with the Department of Conservation's (DOC) online permit system due to roll out within the next 12 months.

DOC's approach to obtaining permits has shifted since RNZ first detailed hunter Victor Tindale's efforts to trap feral cats in Fiordland last year.

He had to adapt a paper-based commercial possum fur trapping permit as nothing exists for individuals wanting to trap feral cats. The process took weeks and involved numerous emails to the local DOC office before he was granted a permit.

In contrast, getting a hunting permit involves filling out an online questionnaire and approval is automatic. A year-long permit is emailed within minutes of completing the form.

Feral cats are an apex predator found in all parts of New Zealand and have contributed to the extinction of several bird species. There's no confirmed estimate of their numbers, but guesses range in the millions.

Tindale was pleased DOC is "seeing the light" and had taken his suggestion of making the trapping permit process easier on board so people can voluntarily help the conservation estate.

He trapped five cats, two stoats, a ferret, and 18 possums on his trip to Fiordland and described adding trapping to hunting trips as a way of giving back.

Seeing native wildlife return to areas after predators have been removed was incredibly satisfying and he encouraged others to get involved.

"It's hard to explain, it's pretty special. You see the results; it works. Trapping is not the only solution, but it can stem the tide and it can make a really big difference."

He hoped DOC would make rules for setting traps clear during the permit process to avoid native species, such as kiwi or weka, being accidently caught.

"It seems like a good common sense step to make towards getting the public more involved, which is what we need. There's going to be less and less money going towards things like this, I think."

DOC's director of regulatory transformation Joanna Clifford said there is a phased approach to make permits for a variety of activities easier to obtain as part of a push to modernise the department's systems.

Drone permits are already available to be applied for online and in September simple filming and photography permits will be added.

Clifford was unable to give an exact date for pest control permits to be available online but confirmed it would be within the next 12 months.

The 'number one' predator

Feral cats - wild cats that live without human interaction - were added to Predator Free 2050's list of target species last year. Their inclusion was promised in an election debate in 2023, and announced after RNZ's reporting on the issue.

DOC told Tindale when it confirmed it was investigating simplifying the permit system that the inclusion of feral cats would likely trigger more interest in making it easier for people to obtain trapping permits.

North Canterbury Hunting Competition organiser Matt Bailey thinks it is great that feral cats have been added to the predator free 2050.

"To be fair, I don't know how it was supposed to be predator free without getting rid of them because they are number one."

Feral cats have been included in the hunt's categories for several years,often drawing protests from animal rights advocates. Recently he's seen a u-turn in people's attitude toward their inclusion.

"Everyone's into it," he said, based on social media comments he read, which were overwhelmingly positive about feral cats being included.

This year a record 441 feral cats were culled at the fundraising hunt held last weekend, along with 221 deer, 9 wallaby, 37 goats, 227 pigs, 334 possums, 22 rats, 149 hares, 52 rabbits, as well as stoats, ferrets and weasels, geese and ducks.

The cats were mainly caught on farm land, where Bailey said they posed a problem due to their ability to spread toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can cause "abortion storms" in sheep. They also prey on native birds and other creatures.

The event was criticised for involving school children and there were concerns that pet cats would be killed. Bailey said all the cats entered were checked with a microchip scanner and no microchips were found.

He said including children in hunting and trapping is common in rural New Zealand.

"Life and death is nothing new to our kids."