OPINION: There is stuff out there that I have no Issues with.
Tonight I have "no issues” with the North Canterbury Hunting Competition.
This fantastic event starts in exactly one month's time. There are 30 days to go.
Now a warning to any cat lovers out there: I need you to hear me out here.
This competition had a plan to let hunters aged under 14 go out and shoot some "feral" cats with the funds raised going to Rotherham Primary School to get a new pool.
And they got hammered for being cat killers, and were forced to cancel that bit.
It went global, and even Ricky Gervais got in on the pile-on. Well, I say, get out of it Gervais. You know nothing about our country and even less about our cats.
Because I actually support the hunting of "feral" cats.
Yes - feral cats. Feral.
- There are estimated to be up to 2.5 million feral cats in New Zealand. 2.5 million.
- They are not strays. They are wild cats from the day they are born.
- They get big - up to 7 kilograms.
- And they kill our kiwi and our Kākāpō, and our beautiful native skinks. They're absolute stunners and they're critically endangered thanks to feral cats.
Short-tailed bats. I'm on your side. Because here's what just one cat did to 107 of you.
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Feral cats are a dangerous pest just like possums, rats and stoats. But they are not even included in Predator-Free 2050
That is nuts.
Kids in New Zealand hunt and they hunt safely, under supervision. This is a reality. It's a way of life for many families.
And if they are going to hunt possums, rabbits, all these pests, then surely when they're out there in the wilderness, and they see a wild feral native bat-killing cat, they can hunt that too.
I need to be clear. I'm not against moggies or any house cats. I understand that your cat Twinkles or Misty is special
But feral cats are not special. They need to die.
And that's why I have no issues with the North Canterbury Hunting Competition and I hope Rotherham School gets its pool.
So you got any issues with that? Did I persuade you?
(Ok so it's just me and the skinks and the bats, that's all good.)
Patrick Gower is the host of Paddy Gower Has Issues.
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