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title: "A campaign is underway to remove feral cats from New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island, home of the threatened Black Petrel"
---

# A campaign is underway to remove feral cats from New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island, home of the threatened Black Petrel

*![Black Petrels Biz Bell](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/B/Black/Black_Petrels_Biz_Bell.jpg)A Black Petrel pair on Great Barrier Island, photograph by ‘Biz’ Bell*

 New Zealand’s ACAP-listed Black Petrel *Procellaria parkinsoni* breeds on only two islands: [Aotea/Great Barrier Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Island) (28 000 ha) and the nearby Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island (3080 ha) on the outer edge of North Island’s Hauraki Gulf.  Little Barrier, an uninhabited [nature reserve](https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/auckland/places/little-barrier-island-nature-reserve-hauturu-o-toi/nature-and-conservation/), is now free of introduced predators following the removal of cats and rats.  In contrast, inhabited Great Barrier supports populations of feral cats, feral pigs and rats of two species, which threaten the [Vulnerable](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-petrel-procellaria-parkinsoni) petrel in its main breeding grounds on the upper slopes of [Hirakimatā/Mount Hobson](https://www.gbiet.org/en-articles/en36-hirakimata), the islands highest point at 627 m.

 *![Cat trappers Great Barrier](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/B/Black/Cat_trappers_Great_Barrier.jpg)Aotea feral cat trappers Lyrik Murray, Phoebe Ngawaka and Reneeah Ngawaka, photograph by RNZ/Layla Bailey-McDowell*

 Help for the Black Petrel is now underway with the [Tū Mai Taonga](https://www.ngatirehua.iwi.nz/tumaitaonga) conservation project working to remove feral cats from Great Barrier.  To this end the project team has established hundreds of cage traps and cameras.  In the first phase, the team created 90 kilometres of tracks through [Te Paparahi](https://www.tiakitamakimakaurau.nz/discover-tamaki-makaurau/learn-about-your-area/bfa-te-paparahi/), a rugged 3414-hectare forest block at the northern end of the island.  Great Barrier was estimated to have around 2500 feral cats, while data from the northern area suggest that fewer than 15 now remain.  With feral cat numbers reduced in the north, operations have moved south and now cover 18 000 ha (64% of the island).

  *Bringing Aotea back to life through a te ao Māori lens (seven minutes)*

 The campaign to remove the feral cats from Great Barrier is combined with a drive to sterilize and microchip the island’s pet/companion cats via a free desexing programme that includes offering free transport to and from the vet in a “cat taxi”.  New Zealand is one of the world's biggest domestic cat owners, with around 40 percent of homes owning at least one cat.

 The eradication programme on Great Barrier Island follows the addition of feral cats to the [Predator Free 2050](https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/predator-free-2050/) target species, with projects around the country beginning to tackle this major threat to native wildlife.

 *![Feral cat on Great Barrier](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/B/Black/Feral_cat_on_Great_Barrier.jpg)A feral cat on Great Barrier Island, trail camera photograph from Tū Mai Taonga*

 Read the original RNZ news story [here](https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/1549658/bringing-aotea-back-to-life-through-a-te-ao-maori-lens).

 *John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 05 October 2026*