RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP

We care deeply about our native species in Aotearoa New Zealand. They’re incredibly special and the majority of them are found nowhere else in the world. This is because when New Zealand split off from Gondwana, the land was dominated by birds and reptiles rather than mammals. These species had time to evolve and fill in the roles (or ecological niches) that mammals often fill on other continents. For example, moa filled in the role of a large grazing animal like a deer. The top predators were all birds which hunted by sight, such as the Haast Eagle or kārearea/NZ falcon. This is why many native and endemic species have amazing camouflage and freeze when in danger. However, these adaptations that once kept them safe now leave them vulnerable to introduced mammals who hunt by smell.

Our family pets are often mammals that are also introduced species to Aotearoa New Zealand, like rats and stoats. Animals such as cats and dogs, often kept as pets, have an amazing sense of smell and a prey drive that can lead them to harm native species, even if they don’t mean to. It is our responsibility as pet owners to make sure we look after both our pets and native species in a way that keeps them all safe.

 CAT OWNERSHIP

Cats are important members of our whānau/family and deserve to be treated with love and respect. The best thing you can do for nature and your cat is to keep them safe and happy at home. Keeping your cat at home also means they are less likely to get sick or injured and aren’t at risk of being hit by cars, getting into fights or injesting toxins. Did you know that a cat that is kept safe at home can live up to 4 times longer than a cat left to roam alone?

Keeping your cat safe at home can be done in a variety of ways. You know your cat best and so will be able to decide on what will work for your property, whānau and cat. For example, you could:

 

Let your cat outside AND supervise them

 

This works well for cats that don’t like to roam far and will stick close to you while outside.

 

Let your cat outdoors on your property

 

You might like to build or buy a ‘catio’ which allows your cat to go outdoors in an enclosed area or get additions to your fence (like rollers) that stop your cat getting over the top. These would work well for cats who are insistent on going outside or are adjusting to living indoors. You can also teach your cat to walk on a leash if you have a cat who would tolerate and enjoy this.

 

keep your cat indoors

 

This works well for a variety of personality types, but you will need to be mindful of the process depending on your cat - there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some will adjust quickly, whereas others might need some more attention and love as they get used to it.

Make sure that time indoors is linked to positive experiences for your cat, including getting treats, played with and cuddled. You might have to distract them with something fun and engaging and be aware of giving them lots of attention while transitioning them to being indoors. You also know you cat best, so if they don’t adjust after a few weeks then maybe other options like catios, or cat-proofing your yard are better options. You can also choose to keep any future cats indoors from when you adopt them, as often younger cats adjust easier.  

If you decide to keep your cat safe indoors, there are a few ways to make sure they have an enriched life. Provide them with opportunities to carry out their natural behaviours by playing with them, giving them places to hide, jump and scratch and even giving them food puzzles.

As well as keeping your cat safe at home, it is also important to desex your cat. Desexing is the surgical removal of part of the animals’ reproductive system. This reduces unwanted behaviours like spraying and also means your cat wont be adding to the population of cats who need to find homes and alleviates the strain on animal shelters and rescues.

Microchipping your cat is also part of being a responsible cat owner. Even if you have an indoor cat, they are useful in case they escape, or a disaster happens. For example, following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, 85% of microchipped animals were reunited with their owners, compared with a rate of just 15% for those without chips.  

Keeping your cat at home means they won’t be able to hurt or kill native birds, lizards and insects or spread diseases which can make marine mammals and birds very sick or die. We can live in harmony with our native taonga and our furry friends by being responsible cat owners. This means we can protect both our cats and native biodiversity at the same time.  

Helpful resources:

 DOG OWNERSHIP

Dogs are our best friends and we love to bring them out with us when we spend time in nature. However, we need to be repsonsible owners to ensure they are safe and also not a risk or nuisance to other people, dogs or wildlife.

Some key ways you can be a responsible dog owner is to:

 

Desex your dog

 

  • Desexing is the surgical removal of part of the animals’ reproductive system. Desexing your dog helps reduce roaming, aggression and unwanted puppies. It also helps to lessen the risk of some diseases in your dog. For example, female dogs that have not been spayed are at higher risk of developing cancers of the uterus, ovaries and mammary gland.
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Microchip your dog

 

  • You are legally required to have microchipped your dog at least two months following their registration. This microchip is a device about the size of a grain of sand and is inserted under the skin of your dog. It has a 15-digit unique number assigned to the microchip helps identify your dog through our registration records and the National Dog Database.

 

Register your dog with your local council

 

You are legally required to register any dog over three months old. This is something you must do every year (you only need to microchip your dog once).

When you are out in nature, it is important to pay attention to and obey any signage around whether your dog needs to be on a leash or not. Keeping your dog under control means that your dog is safe from eating toxic things and injuring or killing wildlife.

New Zealand birds have very distinct smells as they did not evolve with predators that hunted with their nose. This makes them super interesting to dogs, who experience their world through their nose. Even just picking up a bird like a kiwi can be enough to kill them as they are very fragile.

There are birds returning to Wellington that have been gone for over 100 years like kiwi and kākā who are at risk of being killed by dogs. Kororā/little penguins and other seabirds who call the beach their home are also at risk. Dogs can disturb their nests and kill adults and chicks. 

As well as keeping your dog under control, kiwi or kororā aversion training is available around Wellington and is advised if you regularly take your dog into areas where these birds are present (kiwi are now in Karori, Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush and Mākara and are continuing to spead!).

Helpful resources:

 

 

 PET OWNERSHIP

While cats and dogs are often in the spotlight for their impact on our local ecosystem, there are other pets who also can distrubt this balance. When getting any pet, always do your research first. Make sure you are prepared to commit to it for its lifespan or find a rescue to rehome it.

Some animals like turtles are dumped when people no longer want them. Turtles add extra pressue to our native freshwater ecosystems and the red-eared slider turtles (pictured above) which are found in a lot of pet stores are actually one of the world’s 100 most invasive species. They can eat our native plants and animals, frighten nesting waterbirds, and stir up sediment.

Pets can also escape and enter the ecosystem. This is especially true for birds who are hard to retrieve once they escape. Escaped parrots can compete with native species for food and nesting sites and spread diseases to our vulnerable native parrots. If you have a pet bird, make sure it is securely contained at all times so that it can't escape, and give it enough space and quality food that all its behavioural needs are being met.