Yesterday in select committee, Director General Lou Sanson revealed that the Department of Conservation is in talks with the SPCA about establishing a cat curfew and a plan for dealing with feral cats, National’s Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson says.

“I noted that DG Sanson pawsed before he admitted that it is a tricky conversation to have with the New Zealand public who have the highest levels of cat ownership in the world.

“In particular he called out Wellington City which is no surprise as my Wellington colleagues tell me tails about a cult following in the capital of a cat called Mittens.

“Mr Sanson spoke of how Queensland has recently legislated that cats must be kept inside after dark. Australian cats must be much better time-keepers than any Kiwi cats I have had the furtune to encounter.

“While this idea might be catnip to conservationists, it is a conversation that needs to be had with the cat people of New Zealand who have been resistant to purrsuasion previously.”