Debaters expose cats' conservation virtues and vices

Date: 05 May 2008

They're highly skilled rat exterminators with a small carbon footprint, but are cats conservationists?

Not according to most of the conservation volunteers who heard both sides of the argument at a tongue-in-cheek celebrity debate on Saturday. It was a highlight of Restoration Day, an annual conference for ecological volunteers, co-hosted by the Poneke Area of the Department of Conservation, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City Council, and the New Zealand Ecological Restoration Network. It was held this year at the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) Kelburn campus.

The team taking the negative stance in
the Restoration Day debate My cat's a
conservationist

The VUW debating team put up a valiant argument in defence of the moggie, pointing out that it doesn't drive (or even like travelling in) cars, doesn't plough up arable land for vineyards, doesn't require child labour to make its clothes, doesn't eat the seeds of native plants, recycles its waste, and even "rescues" lizards. Its prowess as a rat killer had prompted the Los Angeles police to employ stray cats as ratters.

But while they convinced some of the audience, the VUW team's feline adulation held no sway with the opposing team of Al Morrison (Director-General of Conservation), Fran Wilde (Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council) and Kevin Hackwell (Advocacy Manager, Forest and Bird).

"Cats kill by instinct!", retorted Al Morrison, who whistled native bird song as the affirmative argument was presented.

"They're an epidemic waiting to happen, a black plague lurking in the nation's living rooms… for which murder is an after dinner pleasure.

"Fran Wilde is working to make Wellington an amphitheatre for the dawn chorus, not a hunting ground for your cat…They're a cataclysmic catastrophe - not conservationists!"

"They're autocrats of the worst kind, terrorists in disguise," added Fran Wilde.

"They're 9/11 bombers living the high life in surburbia, nurtured by the very community that they're trying to attack!"

Kevin Hackwell said the formal registration of his own cat by Biosecurity NZ as a container inspector made amends in some small way for the fact that she was not a conservationist. A survey of the prey of domestic cats in 2000 revealed their main catch as native species.

A hearty round of applause, from an audience of volunteers committed to restoring Wellington's natural environment, confirmed the opposing team as winners, by an estimated two thirds majority.

A native plant propagation workshop
was a feature of Restoration Day

Back to basics was the theme of this year's Restoration Day, reinforcing the importance of having a solid base for restoration projects. With good planning and ongoing monitoring, conservation projects can achieve positive and lasting results.

Around 200 members of ecological restoration groups attended the event which featured workshops, talks, field trips and the opportunity to network.

Keynote speaker was entomologist George Gibbs, author of the recent Montana award winning book Ghosts of Gondwana. He highlighted the uniqueness of New Zealand and urged volunteers to be mindful of the three Es - Educating people on the biogeographic history of New Zealand - "The more people that know about it the more drive we'll have to look after it"; endemicity - appreciating the uniqueness of our animals and plants; and enthusiasm - wanting to do something about it.

How come we are doing so badly? was the topic of a talk by Department of Conservation botanist John Sawyer who said restoration work should be seen against a "backdrop of an ever-declining native flora, a pandemic of Nature Deficit Disorder and the colonisation of the entire country by exotic species".

"Adopting a school, a scientist, a threatened plant, the media and a business will future proof your project and I would start now," he challenged the volunteers.

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Other workshops and field trips:

Restoration in context; people and places - Clive Anstey, consultant landscape architect and resource planner stressed the importance of writing plans with people rather than for them, and highlighting the benefits for them as well as the wider community and ecosystem.

Working with volunteers - Pauline Harper, Volunteer Wellington shared her ideas for recruiting volunteers, working with diversity, and acknowledging effort.

Animal pest control - Ben Reddiex, Biosecurity New Zealand and Tony Silbery, DOC discussed planning, benefits and methods of animal pest control.

Practical weed control techniques - Greater Wellington biosecurity officer Darryl Kee outlined basic methods for all weed control, including tools, chemicals and timing for control.

Propagation of New Zealand plants - Wellington City Council Berhampore nursery manager Jonathan Bussell demonstrated native plant propagation methods.

Monitoring for restoration projects - Urban and conservation forests and vegetation management consultant Peter Handford introduced such monitoring options as photo points, bird counts and vegetation plots.

Photography for restoration - Jeremy Rolfe, DOC showed how to use photo points to monitor restoration projects, and offered tips on taking photos for botanical identification

Conservation and the media - Forest and Bird communications officer Helen Bain helped participants come up with ideas to maximise media coverage of their conservation events, issues and projects in her hands-on, interactive workshop.

Promoting conservation on the world wide web - Peter Cooper from Solutions Geek and webmaster for the Rimutaka Forest Park Trust highlighted the "substantial" benefits a dedicated website can bring to promotional efforts.

Bolton Street Walkway Project - restoration in the inner city - Project coordinator Paula Warren revealed how one of Wellington city's major pedestrian commuting routes is being restored, replacing a predominantly acacia/wandering willy vegetation with a native forest.

The Wellington Botanic Garden primary bush remnant - management or restoration? Frances Forsyth, from environmental and ecological consultancy Blaschke and Rutherford, discussed options for the management of a forest remnant in the Wellington Botanic Garden which has been the focus of numerous botanical and ecological studies over the last century. ENDS

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