New Zealand environmental advocate launches campaign to ban cats as pets

[LarryN]

Gareth Morgan has a simple dream: a New Zealand free of pet cats that threaten native birds. But the environmental advocate has triggered a claws-out backlash with his new anti-feline campaign.

For thousands of years, New Zealand's native birds had no predators and flourished. Some species, like the kiwi, became flightless. But the arrival of mankind and its introduction of predators like cats, dogs and rodents has wiped out some native bird species altogether and endangered many others.

"Imagine a New Zealand teeming with native wildlife, penguins on the beach, kiwis roaming about in your garden," Morgan writes on his website. "Imagine hearing birdsong in our cities."

If Morgan were really concerned for the birds, wouldn't he take his ban a step further and have all the people leave? New Zealand was teeming with wildlife before all the people arrived.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01...-cats-as-pets/

[ms maggie]

Well this is silly but a cat-free world is fine with me!

[Fang]

Me and my cats object. We're starting a petition to ban Gareth.

[Gopher]

The guy sounds like a goof. I suspect the only thing he will gain from this is a lot of hate mail, threatening telephone calls, maybe some not so subtle death threats, etc.

[banner1124]

As much as I dislike cats (defiitely a dog person) this is jus utterly ridiculous. People like this are a complete waste of space.