A children's cat-hunting competition in New Zealand has been canceled after fierce criticism.
Organizers of the annual event came under fire when they announced a new category to hunt street cats, which are considered pests in New Zealand.
The children were told not to kill pets, but were encouraged to catch as many street cats as possible for a reward of around 105 euros.
Animal welfare groups immediately condemned the competition.
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The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was good that the "new category of cat hunting competition" would not be at the official event after all.
Children, along with adults, will not be able to distinguish between a "wild, stray or frightened domesticated cat," said a representative of the society, as reported by the France Presse news agency.
There was also fear that domestic cats could be killed, one former sponsor of the hunt told local media Staf.
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The event was announced as part of a June fundraiser for a local school in Canterbury, South Island.
The competition each year usually sees hundreds of adults and children compete to kill wild boar, deer and rabbits.
Organizers of a hunting competition in North Canterbury announced the cancellation of the cat event on Tuesday, saying they had received "threatening messages".
"We are disappointed and apologize to those who have been excitedly waiting to participate in protecting our native birds and other vulnerable species," the group wrote on Facebook.
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The post received more than 100 comments from users, many of whom defended the event.
People wrote in the comments that the hunt could have been a "controlled shooting".
"If only people knew the damage wild cats are doing around that place," wrote one local woman.
"They also affect our agriculture. Feral cats carry diseases... we will continue to shoot them," she concluded.
Measures to control feral cat populations are hotly debated in New Zealand, where the animals are a major threat to the country's native species and biodiversity.
New Zealand's largest conservation group, the Royal Society for the Protection of Forests and Birds, has estimated that feral cats could be responsible for the deaths of as many as 1,1 million domestic birds each year, as well as tens of millions of non-native birds.
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