Abandoned pets threat to kiwi

The New Zealand Kiwi Foundation is urging animal-owners not to dump unwanted cats and dogs during the summer holidays because of the threat they pose to kiwi.

The foundation, a Far North-based kiwi protection group, says the only Christmas gift the bird is likely to have this summer is a big increase in the number of hungry cats and dogs roaming in the bush.

Spokesman Greg Blunden estimates that dozens of kiwi are killed every year by abandoned pets.

The animals are often dumped in remote bush areas - the normal habitat for kiwi.

Mr Blunden said five live kittens were found last month in a shopping bag left at the side of the road near Marsden Cross in the Bay of Islands.

"If these cats had escaped, part of their diet would have been kiwi chicks," he said.

A total of 40 kittens, 12 adult cats, 33 puppies and 18 adult dogs have been taken in by the Bay of Islands SPCA in Kerikeri during the last two weeks.

But Mr Blunden said many more unwanted pets were dumped and either died or must survive in the wild.

"For kiwi, these abandoned animals pose an enormous threat."

In their struggle to survive, the former pets turned on the vulnerable kiwi, he said.

Bay of Islands SPCA spokeswoman Gail Boyd said the feral problem was huge.

She knew of five wild cat colonies in the Bay of Islands and where these were in bush, the animals could do a lot of damage and were hard to catch.

Mr Blunden urged residents and holidaymakers not to buy a pet unless they knew how it would be kept. He also suggested that all pets should be spayed.

People living in or visiting one of Northland's kiwi areas should keep dogs on a leash and not allow cats out at night to roam.

Mr Blunden said unwanted pets should be given to the SPCA or put down by a vet.