Envirologue by Dave Hansford

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Envirologue: Branding a Post-Predator Dream – the Language of Extirpation

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  • Bart Janssen, in reply to izogi,

    I favour the approach of regulation of breeding, keeping and sale of cats.

    Also I agree with this. I can’t see any reason why cats shouldn’t be treated similarly to dogs, at the very least re licensing and registration.

    Absolutely! We love our SPCA moggys. But there is no way we could justify allowing them to breed and chipping them is just good sense. A registration fee would hardly make any difference given what the fleabags have cost us in vet bills.

    Given the number of rats they have brought home to us (__most__ of them dead) I think we are probably still on the plus side of the equation.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to izogi,

    Taranaki, Tongariro and a bunch of other places. OK, I exaggerate, but we have a pretty high standard of path in a lot of places. Certainly compared to the rather beautiful and completely unimproved "pathway" in the pic I posted.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Amanda Wreckonwith, in reply to izogi,

    Not sure what Halo are up to. It's not difficult to target stoats and weasels. DOC 200 or 250 are highly unlikely to get a cat. The Goodnature gas traps are also safe around pet cats as far as I know. Trapping mustelids is rather tricky so good luck!

    Since Sep 2012 • 171 posts Report Reply

  • izogi, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    Ah. Yeah I get what you mean. Taranaki in particular has a big lobby from the local mountain running community. It's always been a huge place for harriers clubs and similar, and they often enjoy nicely groomed tracks, so I don't think DOC's too concered about providing and attributing that as part of its recreation-fostering mandate.

    In fairness to DOC in that case though, and probably much of Tongariro NP, I think much of it has been put in place for protecting the surrounding environment in reaction to popularity more than for making a nice pathway for people. Much of Taranaki in particular gets really really wet and muddy, and the ground erodes rapidly when faced with a vaguely high concentration of visitors, which encourages people to step over a much wider area and erode even more. Sometimes I wonder if the local conservancies which have excuses like that go a bit overboard, though. I find Taranaki a bit out there in terms of boardwalks and steps every time I go there. Also, they must have placed more pointless fixed ladders up and down small climbs and drops than any other park in NZ. I think the Tararua Range will probably always be my favourite, closely followed by the Ruahine. :)

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 1142 posts Report Reply

  • Amanda Wreckonwith, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    That equation is also complicated...
    From my own perspective, the farm I live on had no pet cats prior to me buying it. We were surrounded by surprising amount of bird life. 3 years later a stray cat (probably dumped) turned up and became part of the family. The bird life disappeared in the space of 6 months. Dead birds were a regular addition to the veranda. The rat and mouse population was still as numerous as before.
    Upon its demise, said cat was not replaced.

    Since Sep 2012 • 171 posts Report Reply

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