Thread: Cat hunter wanted.

Originally Posted by 11mms

Source for that? I know there was a muppet whopping cows in the head with a sledgie that got on the news a few years ago, but I dare say estwing has been the tool of choice for possum trappers since...well, possum traps.
Anything will die "humanely" if you destroy the brain stem, whether with a .50bmg, or a ballpoint pen. (I don't recommend either for trapped possums btw)


The spca, at least in town here, has a policy of not killing them, but "rehoming" them. So I do not consider that a solution at all.

Ill provide what I know, but to be fair, I did say Im not sure, and this is why.

Trapping of Cats
The Act (see section 36) provides that for any trapped cat, the following obligations apply:
• any traps set must be checked daily within 12 hours after sunrise, commencing from the day after the trap is first set; and
• any cats caught must be attended to without delay.
Where practicable, it is recommended when trapping stray cats and cats in colonies that traps be checked
more frequently.
Any trapped cat must be provided with basic care to meet the requirements of the Act or be released if it is uninjured or be killed humanely if it is a feral cat. Any cat released back into a colony must be in sufficiently good health to be able to fend for itself, and have ongoing access to adequate food, water and shelter to meet its daily needs.
The Act (see section 141) provides that, where a stray cat is trapped and placed in the care of an approved organisation under the Act (such as the SPCA), that organisation must take reasonable steps to identify the owner of the cat, and may take steps to prevent or mitigate any suffering of the cat. If the owner of the cat cannot be identified then, after 7 days, the cat may be sold, found a new home or euthanased.


feral cat
For the purposes of this Code, means a cat which is not a stray cat and which has none of its needs provided by humans. Feral cats generally do not live around centres of human habitation. Feral cat population size fluctuates largely independently of humans, is self-sustaining and is not dependent on input from the companion cat population.
ill-treat
As defined in section 2 of the Act, “ill-treat”, in relation to an animal, means causing the animal to suffer, by any act or omission, pain or distress that in its kind or degree, or in its object, or in the circumstances in which it is inflicted, is unreasonable or unnecessary.

Id suggest there is grounds there that might well cover hitting on the head with a hammer- given its unnecessary- But im not a lawyer and dont know fully how it would be interpreted.
Im also not sure if feral cats come under the pest classification that possums do either?

Originally Posted by whanahuia

Ill provide what I know, but to be fair, I did say Im not sure, and this is why.



Id suggest there is grounds there that might well cover hitting on the head with a hammer- given its unnecessary- But im not a lawyer and dont know fully how it would be interpreted.
Im also not sure if feral cats come under the pest classification that possums do either?

Cool cheers for the info. Always something to learn, and it has been -just a couple- of years since I've trapped at any real scale.

Pretty sure feral cats are a legislated pest. Even the quote you link differentiates "when trapping -stray- cats" and "killed humanely if it is -feral-"
and then also mentions "companion" (lol sure) cats.

Follow up... if whopping them in the nut is "un-necessary" ... how would you humanely despatch one, given the town setting?

Originally Posted by 11mms

Cool cheers for the info. Always something to learn, and it has been -just a couple- of years since I've trapped at any real scale.

Pretty sure feral cats are a legislated pest. Even the quote you link differentiates "when trapping -stray- cats" and "killed humanely if it is -feral-"
and then also mentions "companion" (lol sure) cats.

Follow up... if whopping them in the nut is "un-necessary" ... how would you humanely despatch one, given the town setting?

As above, Id go for kill traps if catching pets is not likely. If it is then cage traps and take them somewhere that shooting them is not going to be a problem I guess is the solution.