New Zealand Feral Cat Cull 2050: What the Plan Means for Cats and Conservation

New Zealand’s conservation minister, Tama Potaka, has announced his aim to eradicate all feral cats in the country by 2050 – describing the large cats as “stone cold killers” – as part of its Predator Free 2050 initiative, a conservation programme aimed at eliminating introduced predators threatening native wildlife.

More than 2.5 million feral cats (though this number’s accuracy is argued by animal welfare groups), cats living in a wild state with no relationship or reliance on humans, can be found around New Zealand, where they can grow up to one metre long and weighing up to 7kg. 

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“Feral cats are being added to the target list because they are a major threat to native wildlife including native birds, bats, lizards and invertebrates,” says Rachel Kirkman, of the Department of Conservation.

Without any predator except for humans, feral cats are considered the apex predator in New Zealand. “In order to boost biodiversity, to boost heritage landscape and to boost the type of place we want to see, we’ve got to get rid of some of these killers,” said Poatka. 

The announcement has raised ethical and welfare concerns regarding how New Zealand’s feral cat cull will be carried out in practice, and about whether domestic and stray cats will be adversely affected by the plans.

In letters to the government, animal welfare groups and activists have criticised the government’s “reckless public rhetoric” that have “demonised an entire species”. They argue that feral cats are the result of human neglect (cats that have been dumped, abandoned or left desexed), and this is the core driver of population growth – a human problem rather than a feral cat one. 

What is the Predator Free 2050 plan? 

Launched in 2016, New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 initiative was created to eradicate rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels and possums nationwide by 2050 to protect native wildlife. 

With many species found nowhere else in the world, distinct because the country has been geologically isolated for 85 million years since splitting from the supercontinent of Gondwana, conservationists are on a mission to protect wildlife from predators who might endanger its survival.

At the end of November, Potaka said feral cats would be added to the strategy, and as a result, there will be large-scale efforts to eradicate them from the country. Inclusion on the list will enable national coordination of feral cat management and improve funding access for projects targeting feral cats and feral cat research.  

Feral cats’ inclusion in New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 initiative comes after years of campaigning. Gareth Morgan launched a Cats to Go campaign in 2013 and children have previously been encouraged to shoot feral cats – both which faced pushback from communities. 

Potaka has said that things have changed now, with over 90 percent of those involved in a consultation on the decision backed improved feral cat management. 

How the cats will be killed is the questions on everyone’s mind, but further details of the plan are yet to be released, due in March 2026. 

Why is New Zealand targeting feral cats?

In his announcement adding feral cats to New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 initiative, Potaka made the conversation argument for why feral cats have to be eradicated: “Feral cats are now found across Aotearoa New Zealand, from farms to forests, and they put huge pressure on native birds, bats, lizards and insects,” he said. “They also spread toxoplasmosis, which harms dolphins, affects people and costs farmers through lost stock.”

In 2010, one feral cat killed over 100  endangered short-tailed bats in a single week in Ohankune, and in 2020, a feral cat caught in Canterbury had 17 skinks (a type of lizard) in its stomach. In between 2019 and 2021, feral cats caused the death of 20 percent of monitored kea (a native New Zealand bird) in Arthur’s Pass. 

Native birds are particularly at risk of predation. Lyall’s wren, a small flightless New Zealand bird, has gone extinct on Stephens Island due to feral cats. 

Other endemic birds are at risk as well: the endangered black stilt/kakī, wrybill, black-fronted tern, kākā, kea, kiwi and dotterels. 

“We’ve always danced around the issue or the ‘cat-shaped hole’ in the Predator Free 2050 mission,” Predator Free New Zealand Trust’s Jessi Morgan, said. “The evidence that feral cats are devastating predators, preying on birds, bats, and lizards found nowhere else on Earth, is well documented and understood. But cats have existed in a strange no-man’s land. Devastating biodiversity, but largely untouchable because of their close link to beloved pets.”

Anne Batley, founder and chair of The New Zealand Cat Foundation, looking after around 400 abandoned, lost or surrendered cats, tells Kinship UK that the number of bids killed by cats is “totally unproven”.

“[The numbers] are based on absolute supposition, with wild statements with no substantiation,” she says.

What methods will be used to eradicate feral cats?

We won’t hear about how the change will be implemented until March 2026, but it’s suspected methods that might be used could include:

• kill traps (SA2 Kat Traps, Timms)

• chimney trap boxes (with SA2 or Belisle Super X 220 kill traps) 

• leg hold traps

• live trapping with subsequent killing

• poisons (including 1080 poison, small, green cereal pellets laced with sodium fluoroacetate) that target the prey of feral cats which then cause death after the cat has ingested the prey. 

• shooting 

“Technology advances include the development of traps that do not go off if they detect the presence of a microchip, the development of poisons that directly target feral cats instead of the current approach which relies on a cat consuming poisoned prey animals, and tools such as controlling fertility or cat behaviour to reduce predation,” Dr Sumner tells us. 

According to the National Cat Management Group, there will also be community education programmes about the positive and negative impact of cats. 

“All methods of controlling feral cats have a welfare cost, and we advocate that the methods that cause the least harm to the fewest animals be the ones that are used,” Sumner says.

Kirkman at the Department of Conservation says that like any other introduced predator, feral cats will be targeted with “humane and best-practice methods that meet animal welfare standards”.

But animal welfare groups are worried that the methods, which would promote an approach where ordinary people will be left to determine what they can kill without clear guidance is “irresponsible and dangerous”.

Batley says she worries cats will also be killed using poisoned sausages, causing “slow, cruel deaths”, and camera operated poison sprays, which “cause them to tear at their bodies allowing the poisons to enter their bodies for a slow cruel death”. 

“Their other idea is to encourage community involvement, giving members of the public an easier opportunity to get traps to kill feral cats,” she says. “I wonder who is going to monitor that?”

Are domestic cats affected by New Zealand's feral cat plan?

Both directly and indirectly, yes – though Kirkman says pet cats are not targets for eradication.

There are three types of recognised cats in New Zealand, according to Sumner:

• Feral cats. Those living in a wild state and have no relationship or reliance on humans for their needs.

• Companion/domestic cats. Live with a family and rely on people for their welfare needs.

• Stray cats. These are ‘unowned’, but they live among people in urban and rural areas and to some degree, rely directly or indirectly on people for their welfare needs. Stray cats may be provided care by community members, and they can be friendly with people or keep their distance. Stray cats may be lost or abandoned companion cats.

“Distinguishing feral cats from frightened stray or companion cats can be difficult since any stressed cat can act aggressively,” says Sumner. 

And this is exactly what welfare groups are concerned about, saying that advice on how to identify feral cats is not fit for purpose. 

To humanely reduce the total number of cats in New Zealand for conservation purposes, the country is moving towards national cat management with proposals for a National Cat Management Act that would make microchipping, desexing and registration of pets mandatory, and would introduce potential outdoor restrictions to protect wildlife and manage the population. 

Although there is currently no national legislation for domestic cat management, an increasing number of local councils are introducing measures such as limits on numbers of domestic cats, desexing and microchipping through local bylaws, Kirkman says.  

“We advocate that companion cats are desexed and microchipped to protect their welfare and also not contribute to more stray cats in our communities,” said Sumner. “Unplanned breeding of companion cats and ongoing breeding in stray cats can be a source of future feral cats.”

Sumner advocates for companion cat owners to keep their cats home, either as indoor only cats, or with access to an outdoor enclosure or garden that a cat can’t leave. 

“We need action so we can manage our cats more effectively. Current legislation isn’t fit for purpose, and councils need more powers to manage pet, stray, and feral cats,” wrote Amelia Geary for Forest & Bird. 

What are the ethical concerns about the feral cat cull?

There are various objections to the feral cat cull plan, raised by researchers and animal welfare groups. 

In an article on The Conversation, Jonathan Este raised questions about classing cats as predators. “In doing so, they become the kind of problem that can be solved through the conventional logic of pest control,” he wrote. 

The problem though is how to distinguish feral cats from stray or domesticated ones. 

“But as one pest control operator recently told me, even a pet cat in a cage looks and acts feral if it is trapped and afraid,” he continued. He urges key questions to be asked: should anyone be able to kill a trapped cat? What standards and protocols might be necessary? 

Animal welfare groups are seriously concerned about the current policy direction, public messaging surrounding cats, scientific foundation of the proposals, and potential widespread breaches of the Animal Welfare Act. 

In their feedback on the government’s policy, they wrote: “The current approach risks promoting unlawful or inhumane actions, misidentifying cats and endangering companion animals, fuelling hostility and violence toward cats, relying on unsubstantiated population estimates, undermining long standing animal welfare norms and childhood education in compassion, and excluding frontline animal welfare experts from policy development.”

They are urging the government to rely on humane alternatives instead: evidence-based solutions focused on desexing, microchipping, public education and responsible pet parenting. 

“We also request transparent definitions, regulatory safeguards, and direct engagement with rescue organisations,” the letter said. 

What's the timeline for New Zealand’s feral cat eradication?

Further details on Predator Free 2050 Strategy actions to work towards eradication of feral cats will be released in March 2026. A public summary of public submissions will also be released at that time. 

Until then, we await the implementation plan outlining how exactly feral cats will be eradicated. 

Various groups submitted evidence and feedback to the Predator Free 2050 plan as part of a recent public consultation process for the 2025-2030 strategy review, however the submission period closed as of 30 June 2025. 

Animal welfare groups have written to the government urging them to adopt humane, evidence based solutions focused on desexing, microchipping, public education, and responsible ownership. They have also requested transparent definitions, regulatory safeguards, and direct engagement with rescue organisations.

Kinship will provide updates as they arise in March.