New Zealand's kids report on GPS tagging of feral cats followed by killing them

NEWS AND COMMENT - NEW ZEALAND: It's reported by a news web site under the umbrella of the stuff.co.nz website, called Kea Kids News, that the authorities in New Zealand, who are constantly at war with the feral cat, are going to GPS collar tag some feral cats, track their movements and then kill them. 

Feral cat with GPS collar. Image: Simon Stevenson.

It's just another way of finding out what feral cats do and where they go so that they can be better managed. However, by "management" of feral cats they invariably mean how to kill them more efficiently. If you know where they are and what they do you can track them down and kill them in any way that is suitable at that moment. Shooting is probably a favourite. Forget the pain it causes.

I think the news is worth passing on partly because this is a news channel run by kids, as I see it. So, it is children who are stating this and doing so without any discussion about the moral issues. There is no discussion about whether it is fair or unfair, cruel or humane, ethical or unethical and so on.

If kids think that feral cats need to be killed and only killed then there is little chance that anything else will happen to them except the killing will probably be cruel like shooting. When these kids grow up, they'll be doing the killing. And they will pass the idea to their kids and so over generations they will be indoctrinated into believing that feral cats are dangerous pests and vermin which have to be eradicated at all costs.

There are other ways of dealing with these animals. These children should realise that it is humans who put them there in the first place. Their existence is the fault of people. And the gradual demise of many of New Zealand's native species is also the fault of people through habitat loss. New Zealand's dairy industry has been wreaking havoc with local biodiversity owing to unsustainable practices. 

I think children should be given the opportunity for enlightened thought. It does them good.

This cat is a shameless thief. Discuss.

A domestic cat living in Beaverton, Oregon, USA, is one of those cats that people like to brand as a thief because she goes to neighbours' homes and picks up gloves and other personal items and bring them back to her den which is her home. 

It looks like a distorted and confused version of hunting prey without the killing and bringing the prey animal back to teach her owner how to kill prey animals. That is what the wild cat does in the wild and it's how I interpret feline kleptomania, as it is referred to. Esme is treating her human caretaker as a kitten and she is training this woman how to kill prey animals when they are brought back to the den. So, it is all completely natural and normal for Esme.

"My cat is a thief". No, she is not. Screenshot.

Esme has no concept of human criminality, the human language, morality, the emotion of shame, immorality or human laws. The emotion of shame demands that the cat is able to be self-aware and measure themselves against human society's norms. They can't do all this.

Therefore, categorically she is not a thief but that isn't the point. The large sign that Esme's owner put outside her home is really a bit of fun asking neighbours to come and collect their stolen personal effects.

Despite the fun element, and I totally get it, I do not like the sign because I would argue that it disrespects the cat. It's a slightly hostile sign and it is using a concept which is totally alien to the cat. Let's think of a better sign, one which respects the cat and understands feline behaviour resulting in this form of 'kleptomania'.

Esme is a 'thief'. No, she is a mother and a hunter and she is training her kittens (her human companion) which means she is confused! :) 

What about "My cat has borrowed these items, please collect them if they are yours". Or "My cat thinks gloves are prey animals. Sorry, please collect". Just two examples made up on the spur of the moment. They might not be very good and they are less interesting but they are more truthful and they are more respectful. Actually, they are dull titles because they are literal. You won't get a ton of video views with titles like that and that is the point. The sign is a form of clickbait.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.