In April, the society and the council resolved a judicial review proceeding in the High Court. An Auckland Council spokeswoman confirmed galahs, sulphur-crested cockatoos and eastern rosellas will continue to be exempt from the rules in the plan until 2025. The exemption for Indian ring-necked parakeets, monk parakeets and rainbow lorikeets will expire in September 2022.
Chris McKeen
Mary-lee Sloan (pictured with her sulphur-crested cockatoos) fought an Auckland Council plan to ban galahs, which she breeds for export. The plan also includes new prohibitions on the breeding and distribution of certain reptiles, including the red-eared slider turtle and a species of bearded dragon.
Free snipping for cats in eco-areas
Free feline desexing and microchipping is being offered to cat owners who live in two rural areas on the west and east coasts in a bid to provide extra protection for endangered native wildlife.
Residents whose postcode is either 0977 – Tapora and the Okahukura Peninsula – or 0986 – Tawharanui, Omaha and Point Wells – are eligible for Snip ’n’ Chip vouchers, a joint initiative by the SPCA and Auckland Council that runs until June.
Council biosecurity principal advisor Dr Imogen Bassett says desexing and microchipping are two of the most important things people can do as pet owners, so it makes sense to offer it free of charge to eco-sensitive communities living near threatened species.
The next day, her face had a red patch that progressed down the length of her body. By the next morning, her eye had swollen closed. Byerly took her daughter to the GP and was prescribed antihistamine and a natural alternative to hydrocortisone cream for the itchiness, which did not work.
Supplied
The allergic reaction is caused by a phenolic oily resin called toxicodendrol which has a complex active principle – urushiol. This resin will last for up to a year on shoes, tools or other items. Byerly suspected something in her garden may be the culprit because the rash was localised in certain areas, rather than all over Aniela’s body.
Joseph Johnson/Stuff
Cats are avid hunters, and to blame for much of the predation in New Zealand. The council stopped short of adopting a bylaw, but agreed cat owners needed to take more responsibility. It planned to work with dotterel researcher Ailsa Howard, the Department of Conservation and regional council Environment Canterbury to find a “pragmatic solution”. Wellington City Council was the first to implement cat controls, updating its animal bylaw in 2016 to include mandatory microchipping. The New Plymouth City Council adopted an animal bylaw last year limiting the number of cats allowed on each urban property to three, unless the resident had express approval from the council.