re: Friend of mine told me about a story in the book "Tipping Point"

quote:

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New Zealand are going to war against cats, launching a plan to end feline presence on their island-chain nation once and for all.

The charge is being led by Gareth Morgan, a nationally renowned economist-turned-environmental-activist, who has dubbed cats “natural born killers” that are menacing the native bird population and bringing some to the verge of extinction.

The New Zealand government is taking the proposal seriously enough that they commissioned a study to estimate its cost: $20 billion.
Morgan and other environmentalists backing the controversial plan point out that New Zealand’s fauna developed in the absence of cats or other large-mammal predators. Flightless birds such as the kiwi, a national symbol, are being devastated by the newly arrived cats, as are flighted birds.

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