Feral Cats
SPCA acknowledges that feral cats are considered a pest under New Zealand law and recognises the need to act on ecological and conservation concerns where predation is likely to be a serious problem. Our organisation opposes methods of killing feral cats which do not result in a humane death.
Feral cats do not rely on human activity to survive and are generally located in remote areas. If population management of feral cats is considered justified, SPCA advocates that this must be done with the most humane method.
Although the same species, feral cats are different from both stray cats and owned cats in their behaviour and interactions with humans. Feral cats have a wild temperament and are not suitable as companion animals. None of their needs are provided by humans and their population is self-sustaining.
