Thread: Taumarunui golf club cat / Facebook mob

This is what one of the commentators on the Facebook page had to say; I would be very interested to hear if this is actually incorrect and if so what the law states in terms of shooting cats that are not on their owner’s property. As I type this I remember a case down in Wellington somewhere where cat owners got together to challenge the trapping of cats?


I emailed the SPCA and got this response - which rather surprised me since numerous people said that killing pets was illegal "Thank you for your email. It is concerning to read about cats being shot, however the legal issue under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the Act) is ensuring that the method by which an animal is killed is humane. The Act does not distinguish between pets and production animals. Shooting, if done correctly, is considered humane for a cat if they are killed instantly. There is no legal requirement for a shooter to determine if an animal (including cats) is a pet, so it becomes more of an ethical issue. Therefore, the issue of cat ownership becomes a matter for the police as a potential 'theft of property' if a shot cat was found to be owned.

However, if a cat is not killed but only wounded, depending on the circumstances, a person may be investigated for potential offences under the Act by an SPCA inspector. In these circumstances the SPCA would require information such as the contact details of the person who shot the cat (name/address/phone number) to be able to follow up and conduct enquiries into the matter. Therefore, if you do have any information regarding the identification of the shooter please contact your local SPCA to discuss whether there are sufficient grounds to have an inspector investigate. You can find the SPCA Centres here: https://www.spca.nz/about#spca-centre-locations.

In order to change the law regarding killing pet cats, you would need to contact the government as they pass the New Zealand legislation in Parliament. Currently Meka Whaitiri is the Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare). You can contact her via email m.whaitiri@ministers.govt.nz or through the parliamentary website https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon-meka-whaitiri.