New Zealand officials plan to ban pet cats to protect birds

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A tiny New Zealand town wants to ban cats under a new 'pest plan' to protect native wildlife. 

Cat owners in the small Southland community of Omaui will need to have their feline friends de-sexed and micro-chipped, placed on a council list and monitored until the time of their death. 

'Your cat can live out its natural life at Omaui happily doing what it's doing,' Omaui biosecurity operations manager Ali Meade told Newshub. 

'But then when it dies, you wouldn't be able to replace it.'  

The drastic new changes might spell the end for all cats in the coastal town, with those wanting to buy a new or replacement cat seen to be in breach of the Pest Management Act. 

Environment Southland has proposed the changes to help protect biodiversity in the area.