Forming a bylaw is back on the table as a possible remedy to Gore District’s stray and feral cat problem.
It is estimated there are 4000-4300 feral cats and 500-700 stray cats in the district.
At the Gore District Council planning and regulatory committee meeting last week councillors discussed a draft cat policy prepared by council policy analyst Morgan Edwards.
The policy stated it was designed to be informative and educational rather than prescriptive.
"In other words, the council recommends that the actions described in the policy be followed, but will not enforce the stipulations of the policy."
Cr Andy Fraser said while the policy was good, if it could not be enforced "what’s the use of it?"
He believed cat ownership, like dog ownership, should be subject to a bylaw.
The policy referred to the possibility of limiting the number of cats one household could have but that did not go far enough, Cr Fraser said.
He said 99% of the problem was caused by people having a large number of cats.
Cr Keith Hovell said without having the guidance of legislation it was uncertain if it was legal to have a cat bylaw.
He understood in September last year a parliamentary select committee had recommended legislation be established to control the desexing, microchipping and registration of cats.
He believed part of the council’s cat policy should include an advocacy role to support the select committee in its attempts to persuade Parliament legislation was needed to control cats.
Cr Fraser said some councils had bylaws requiring cats to be microchipped.
Mayor Ben Bell asked if a bylaw would be effective even if it was not easy to enforce.
After visiting the Buller district during his Christmas break, he was aware residents were limited to how many companion cats they were allowed.
"It was the talk of the town and people kind of did understand the rules."
Councillors passed a resolution for staff to prepare a report exploring how appropriate it would be to form a cat bylaw.
Councillors also agreed to revise the draft policy to add topics including a possible cat shelter and the eradication of feral cats on council-owned reserves.
