It’s horrific that this ghoulish contest ever went on but thank God that activists actually shut it down - and I say this as someone who does not like it when things get shut down by “radicals.”
But this is pure evil and had to go.
All That’s Interesting reported that a feral cat-killing contest for children under 14 in New Zealand was canceled after animal rights groups fiercely denounced the event.
The North Canterbury Hunting Competition is an annual community pest-killing event in New Zealand that raises money for a local school and recreation facility. Last year, 250 children and 650 adults participated in the competition and killed 427 animals, primarily possums, hares, and rabbits.
This year, the competition launched a new event: a feral cat-killing contest.
In New Zealand, feral cats are a public and environmental nuisance. According to New Zealand’s Northland Regional Council, feral cats kill up to 100 million birds in the country every year.
Additionally, feral cats have killed young kiwi birds, lizards, and frogs. Given how quickly feral cats breed, their population boom has become somewhat of an ecological disaster in New Zealand.
With these factors in mind, the North Canterbury Hunting Competition added feral cats to the hunting lineup. Other animals like wild pigs and deer are also targets of the competition.
As part of the competition, the organization encouraged children to kill, collect, and present the carcasses of feral cats. The child with the highest kill count would receive $250 NZD or about $155 USD.
As a safety precaution for domestic cats, the organization announced that they would disqualify any child who presented a domestic cat with a microchip to them, but this safeguard was less than reassuring for animal-rights groups.
“Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray, or a frightened domesticated cat,” a spokesperson for the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, told Agence France-Presse.
This is just disgusting. Thank God it’s been ended and hopefully for good.
