More than one way to skin a cat
The pelt of a feral ginger cat was sold on trademe this week – amid horrified accusations of animal cruelty.
Cats do not always land on their feet and, in a notable case this week, one unfortunate feline landed itself on the trademe website.
Or at least the skin did.
Manukau trader Gav placed a controversial ad for a “Beautifully marked wild cat skin” on the site this week, and sold the feral ginger puss’s hide for $70.
Said Gav in his sales pitch: “Beautifully marked wild cat skin, caught eight months ago eating my chickens, pheasants and who knows what else. Sad to see her off my wall but I’m sure she will be a great talking or educational piece.”
Gav was right about the talking bit. The ad attracted 7990 page views and close to 100 comments before the auction closed. There were mixed emotions with a lot of viewers supporting Gareth Morgan’s recent campaign, and a lot against.
Some animal lovers were aghast, accusing Gav of cruelty. Wrote one viewer: “This is sick! Poor cat! How can u kill it an skin it. Cats chasing and hunting birds is what they do to survive. This is animal cruelty! “
One comment said, “Hope you get skinned and then run over by a car, being driven by a cat.”
But most comments were in support of the listing. Wrote one watcher: “I love my pet cats but when you end up paying hundreds of dollars on vet bills to have them stitched up after being attacked by feral cats you get to understand the difference between pets and wild animals. A quick shot with a .22 is a lot more humane than trapping it and letting the SPCA destroy it. Good on ya, I need to make a few pelts of my own…”
One viewer even asked whether Gav had considered alternative uses for the pelt. “Good on you, if they are feral pest then it’s better to utilise their hides rather than throwing it in the bin… with winter coming do you need to to make some fluffy slippers?”
And a hunter was also quick to see the commercial potential. “Top job Gav, the less cats out there the better!!! I hunt for a living spending a lot of time in the back country and around the outskirts of towns and I’ve never seen so many wild cats as I have lately. I shoot every one I see!!!! Might start keeping the skins if you establish a market on trademe for them .”
Gav said cats had killed many of his birds, and all proceeds would go toward protecting NZ native birds.
Local regional councils have pest management programmes in place to help with the feral cat problem.
