New Zealand has announced plans to eradicate feral cats by 2050, as part of efforts to protect the country’s biodiversity.
Speaking to Radio New Zealand on Thursday, conservation minister Tama Potaka said that feral cats are “stone cold killers” and would be added to the country’s Predator Free 2050 list, which aims to eradicate those animals that have a negative impact on species such as birds, bats, lizards and insects.
Cats had previously been excluded from the list, which includes species such as stoats, ferrets, weasels, rats and possums, but Potaka used the interview to announce a U-turn.
With everything deadlined to 2050, I think that is the new end of the world
That’s just where you put programs that sound good but no one wants to spend the money to actually accomplish them. 2050 might be the end of the world, but it’d be because all the stuff we needed to do to head it off were given “we’ll get to it eventually” deadlines.