Culling Invasive Species (including cats) in New Zealand

[Bogertophis]

Besides ignorance, there's a lot of "lazy" involved too- cleaning a cat box every day versus the cat doing its stinky business outside somewhere else...

[Gobuchul]

they must use a minimum of a .22 caliber rifle to ensure a humane killing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for hunting cats. Would this minimum caliber requirement really do anything though? Sounds kind of like useless information included to make the hunt sound better... there's not much smaller than .22.

[Armiyana]

Sounds kind of like useless information included to make the hunt sound better... there's not much smaller than .22.

I counted out 37 BB pellets in a cat's x-ray once. It's not pretty. A handful were still embedded around the face. We were really hoping they were just weird allergies or an infection of some sort and not random cruelty on a cat that had been rescued.

[Malum Argenteum]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for hunting cats. Would this minimum caliber requirement really do anything though? Sounds kind of like useless information included to make the hunt sound better... there's not much smaller than .22.

Some people might use a .17HMR since feral cats can be hard to get close to and so a caliber with a longer reach might seem warranted. There's probably plenty of people who think a regular .177 air rifle is a good idea, especially in urban areas where that's the only option.

A .22 certainly doesn't "ensure a humane killing" though.