A planned competition in New Zealand that invited children to hunt and kill feral cats,as part of efforts to protect native wildlife,has now been canceled after strong public criticism and pushback from animal welfare organizations.

The activity was meant to be part of a fundraising event run by the North Canterbury Hunting Competition,with money going to support Rotherham School in the Canterbury area,located on New Zealand’s South Island.

Just last Saturday,organizers had announced a brand-new youth category for children under 14,as part of their yearly contest.Kids would be able to hunt feral cats,with a top reward of 250 New Zealand dollars,which is equal to about 229 US dollars.

This plan immediately caused widespread anger across the public,forcing organizers to call off the special category by Monday.

In an official notice released on Wednesday,organizers stated that the school and everyone connected to the event had received many cruel,offensive messages and emails over the idea.

“We feel extremely let down by this response,”the statement said.“We want to make it clear that this hunting contest is organized locally by the community,and is fully independent.”

Although cats are much-loved pets in thousands of New Zealand households,feral cats have created a long-running conflict between animal supporters and government officials.The reason is the serious damage they cause to native wild animals.

Across the Tasman Sea in Australia,officials also state that feral cats put more than 100 native animal species at risk of disappearing forever.

Feral cats are responsible for killing millions of birds,reptiles,frogs and small mammals every single day.This destruction has led governments to carry out regular control programs to reduce their numbers.

The Canterbury competition organizers had defended the youth cat-hunting section,saying the goal was simply to protect native birds and other weak,at-risk wildlife.Children would have been allowed to use guns or other legal methods.

“Keeping our sponsors and the school safe is our most important concern,”they explained.“Because of this,we have decided to remove this category for this year,so we can avoid any more public anger.”

They also added that every part of the hunting competition follows rules from the Firearms Act 1983,later updates,and the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

Before canceling the event,organizers had tried to ease public worry that children might accidentally shoot family pets.They made rules that said any child who brought a cat with a microchip would immediately be disqualified.

The group also made it clear that other parts of the hunt,such as events for hunting pigs and deer,would still go ahead as planned.

The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,or SPCA,said it was happy and greatly relieved that the children’s cat-killing competition had been dropped.

“Neither kids nor grown-ups can always tell the difference between a wild feral cat,a homeless stray,or a scared house cat,”the SPCA commented.

“There is a very real risk that someone’s pet cat would be killed in this event.What’s more,young people often use air guns in these kinds of activities.These weapons often cause slow,painful deaths and serious suffering,”the group continued.

PETA,a major animal rights organization,also praised the choice to end the contest.

“Teaching children to hunt and kill animals is a sure way to create adults who solve problems with violence,”said Jason Baker,the group’s vice president for Asia.

“We must teach children to care about animals and feel kindness toward them.We should not teach them that animals are worth less than people,and we should never pay them to act cruelly,”he added.

The canceled contest received attention from around the world.One well-known person who spoke out was British comedian Ricky Gervais,a strong animal lover with more than 15 million followers on social media.

He publicly attacked the idea in a mocking online post.

“Right.We need new ideas to make the world like New Zealand more,”he wrote.“Maybe something with kids and kittens.Yeah,Hargreaves?”

New Zealand remains one of the most distant island nations on Earth.Interestingly,the country has no native land mammals at all,except for bats.

In past years,the nation has run official campaigns against cats.One campaign even asked cat owners not to get a new pet cat after their old one passed away.

Former Prime Minister John Key,who once owned a cat named Moonbeam,once made a strong statement about feral cats.

“Cats are the only real cruel animals in nature.They are like serial killers that hurt other creatures without any pity,”he said.

Helen Blackie is a biosecurity expert at Boffa Miskell,and she has researched feral cats for 20 years.She noted that their numbers have grown rapidly in the last 10 years.In places monitored by wildlife cameras,she said feral cats are now more common than other pests like possums.

“We know from the past that feral cats caused six native bird species to disappear completely,”she told RNZ,a local news network connected to CNN.

“Today,they are one of the main reasons many native birds,bats,frogs and lizards are losing their homes and dying out,”she added.