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Organizers of a New Zealand hunting contest are pawing their way out of controversy after canceling an event that would have seen children 14 and under compete to kill the most feral cats. The North Canterbury Hunting Competition is open to both kids and adults, and aims to manage invasive species and raise money for local causes — specifically, a school and pool in the rural village of Rotherham. Last year, more than 250 children killed 427 animals, mostly possums, hares and rabbits, according to The Guardian. Organizers added a new category this year, announcing in a since-deleted Friday Facebook...

Chicago has a lot of great things to offer. It's super windy, freezing in the winter, scorching in the summer, the homicide rate is off the charts, and there are legions of rats roaming the streets. At least the deep-dish pizza is good! To solve the rat issue, Chicago has decided to release a ninja-army of 1,000 feral cats: Yep, Chicago was named "rattiest city" by pest-control group Orkin for the sixth year in a row.

Chris D’Angelo, Huffington Post’s environment reporter, recently tweeted: “GOP Sens. Cory Gardner and Steve Daines, who have backed Trump's anti-conservation agenda at nearly every turn, are now fighting to shore up funding for public lands. Both face a tough road to reelection in 2020.”  This statement is problematic and visibly inaccurate. First, regardless of your personal feelings about President Trump, his Department of Interior has advanced true conservation policies. Of the agency’s many accomplishments thus far, opening over four million acres of federal public lands for hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities is chief among them.Second, Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO)...

WHITEFIELD — A “huge feral cat problem” on Townhouse Road — to the tune of up to 100 such felines — could affect the health of domestic animals and people who come in contact with them, an animal control officer told selectmen last week. Ben Cook, a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department animal control officer assigned to Whitefield, discussed the issue at last week’s selectboard meeting, saying he’d noticed the problem about two weeks ago. A town resident, however, said it began more than a year ago.

Australia has a serious cat problem, with feral cats covering 99.8% of the country according to new research published in the journal Biological Conservation. The exact number of cats fluctuates from roughly 1.4 million after continent-wide droughts cramp food sources to about 5.6 million after extensive wet periods, which result in plenty of available prey. An additional 700,000 feral cats are estimated to live in other environments, including Australia’s urban areas, rubbish dumps and intensive farms. Despite this, researchers say that the cats’ impact on Australia’s fauna is still severe, and that reducing this impact is of critical importance. The...

NEW YORK (AP) — Multitudes of feral cats roam New York City's concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: They're helping curb the city's rat population. A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats.

A trial of ‘grooming traps’ is aiming to eradicate one of the biggest threats to Australian wildlife – feral felines. Robotic killers that detect feral cats, spray their fur with poison and rely on them to essentially lick themselves to death have been deployed in the Australian desert for the first time. Australian night parrot legend lives on but bird remains as elusive as ever Read more Feral cats are one of the biggest threats to many of Australia’s endangered species, killing millions of animals every day throughout the country – and controlling them has proved difficult. It took John...

By now, you’ve probably heard of Kristen Lindsey. She’s the veterinarian from Brenham who’s given more bad press to the state than Blue Bell after she posted a picture on Facebook of herself, smiling and holding an arrow with a dead cat on the end of it:

Exploding feral pest numbers across the region aren't just keeping graziers busy. At Boolcoomatta Reserve, which is 100 kilometres west of Broken Hill, native animals are being targeted. Set on 63,000 hectares, Boolcoomatta was once a thriving sheep station in its hey day, but is now a nature reserve protecting endangered plants and animals. Property manager Glen Norris says as conditions remain dry, feral cats are becoming a big problem.

SANTA ANA (CBS) — Vector control officials plan to try Tuesday to corral feral cats living on the campuses of two Santa Ana schools in an effort to reduce the flea population and stave off the spread of typhus, a potentially deadly disease. Santa Ana officials announced last week that someone living near Broadway and Washington Avenue in Santa Ana was hospitalized with typhus last month but has since recovered. City spokesman Jose Gonzalez underscored this morning that the victim had no connection with any local schools. Orange County Vector Control officials have been passing out literature to residents in...

Video at source. Even feral kittehs need lub (and noms).

A new report by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that recommends killing feral cats as a way to control the wild animals has bird lovers crowing and cat lovers hissing. Most likely to stir debate is the report's finding that a practice commonly used to control feral cats is ineffective at eliminating their colonies. ADVERTISEMENT The practice of trapping homeless cats, neutering or spaying them and then returning them to the area where they were found has gained popularity across the country. Scores of organizations in cities and communities are dedicated to the trap, neuter and return effort. The American Bird...

It is estimated that there are about 60 to 100 million feral cats in the United States according to recent information provided by Alley Cat Rescue. These are very high numbers but can be reduced, and should be, by trapping the cats and having them spayed or neutered. Alley Cat Rescue also estimates there may be about 17 million people feeding about 35 million feral and stray cats in this country. Thank goodness for the people who help care for the ferals and strays. Unfortunately, there are too many people who could help decrease the feral cat population who simply...

I’m trying to get to bedrock on conflicting assertions and policies related to free-ranging cats and songbirds. The American Bird Conservancy has posted a new video criticizing an array of programs across the country through which well-meaning animal lovers “trap, neuter and release” feral cats. Search the Web for “ trap, neuter, release” or “ feral cat coalition” and you’ll find such efforts from Indiana to Florida to Washington State. The idea is that, once sterilized, populations of wild cats will slowly decrease on their own accord by attrition. The video, and other experts on bird-cat interactions, strongly dispute this,...

U.S. streets could soon be overrun with cats if communities fail to get a handle on growing feline populations, a veterinary medicine researcher says. *** Who herds cats? The perception is that the government provides funding for the control of cats, but "by and large, that is not the case in Ohio," Lord said. "Government has tended to not want to be involved with cats. And I don't know if they can avoid it anymore." ***

This month, a jury may decide if the 54-year-old founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society was acting within his rights when he impeded the progress of a bird-stalking predator by means of a bullet. Mr. Stevenson is due to stand trial for felony cat murder. "There are people with the wrong perception of this," he said in his Chevy compact on a stormy morning, driving along a wide beach at Galveston Island's western tip, where curlews, egrets, stilts and herons strut in the tide pools. He stopped at the pilings beneath the San Luis Pass bridge: the scene of the...

Posted: April 12, 2005 Wisconsinites have spoken - at least those who showed up at Conservation Congress meetings - and it's bad news for feral cats. Cat Hunting What's Next The Conservation Congress will vote next month on whether to recommend the proposal to the Natural Resources Board. That board would then decide whether to order the Department of Natural Resources to ask the Legislature to support the change. Related Coverage Video: TMJ4 Coverage Recent Coverage 3/11/05: Both sides bare claws in debate over shooting feral cats 3/10/05: Cat-hunt plan has promoter in cross hairs Vote results released Tuesday...

Feral cat nuisance plan under attack By Robert Imrie, Associated Press Writer WAUSAU, Wis. — A La Crosse firefighter who as a youngster cared for a cat named Fluffy ignited a firestorm by proposing that free-roaming wild cats be declared an unprotected species in Wisconsin — just like skunks. People could shoot them, drown them or kill them by any means without being charged with a crime.

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 2 (UPI) -- A study shows that colonies of wild, untamed house cats are a threat not only to small animals but also the creatures that prey on them. Many of the animals used for prey are on the endangered species list, the research found. The study was conducted by the University of Florida for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and released Friday. The number of feral cats in the United States is estimated to be 40 million to 60 million, said Pamela Hatley, a law student who...