29/09/2026
A Feral Cat Free Aotea
Barry Scott talks to CHRIS GIBLIN (Feral Cat Operations Manager) and MAKERE JENNER (Project Lead) at Tū Mai Taonga about feral cat removal on Aotea
It is now four years since Tū Mai Taonga, a Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea-led conservation project on Aotea/Great Barrier Island, was set up to remove feral cats and rodents from Aotea. The feral cat eradication component of this project is one of the world’s most ambitious given the size (285 km2) and rugged topography of Aotea and the fact it is inhabited. I spoke to Chris Giblin, Feral Cat Specialist, and Makere Jenner, project lead for Tū Mai Taonga, on progress to date and the challenges they have faced so far in achieving their goal of feral cat eradication on Aotea.
The approach adopted by Tū Mai Taonga was based on a feasibility study(1) that recommended to first remove feral cats from Te Paparahi and use the knowledge and capability gained there to progressively work down the island in stages, through five different zones, working with landowners, Auckland Council, DOC and community groups, and within a framework that would protect domestic cats.
As Makere says “cats are New Zealander’s favourite companion animal” so it is imperative to have a programme that ensures domestic cats are protected. Here they drew on the experience of Auckland Council who had been operating in the Auckland region for a number of years. Huge efforts were put in by Auckland Council to build trust with the community through making it very clear (i) what methods they were going to use to trap feral cats and (ii) what their expectations were of domestic cat owners to ensure their cats could be distinguished from feral cats. All trapping by Auckland Council is live capture using large open cages. If domestic cats have a collar and/or a clipped ear they are released, otherwise they could be assumed to be feral. Microchips help reunite domestic cats with their owners, but chipping alone is insufficient to correctly classify a domestic cat as a pet, as chips sometimes move within the animal and can be missed by a chip reader. On Aotea there is now the added protection of an online domestic ‘Cat-alogue’, containing photos of all registered domestic cats on the island. All Tū Mai Taonga trappers can access the ‘Cat-alogue’ on their phones. When they come within two km of a catalogued domestic cat it shows up on their phones. DOC, Auckland Council, Windy Hill, Oruawharo Medlands Ecovision, Glenfern Sanctuary, Ecology Vision and Tū Mai Taonga joined the ‘Safe Cat’ programme in support of this approach. However, the ‘Cat-alogue’ is an adjunct to, rather than a replacement for, the need for a collar or a clipped ear as the match between a cat in a trap and an image in the ‘Catalogue’ may not always be clear, for example if the cat in the trap is wet.
View the entire article here: https://www.gbiet.org/en-articles/2026/9/17/a-feral-cat-free-aotea
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Photo 1: Cage trap with rabbit bait and remote sensor (Credit: Tū Mai Taonga)
Photo 2: De-Sex Drive Signage at Claris (Credit: Tū Mai Taonga)
Photo 3: Rangiwhakaea Bay (Credit: Barry Scott)
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