This New Zealand town might soon make cats illegal

It's birds versus cats in Omaui, New Zealand, and a new proposal may put birds back in control.

The town's proposal would give cats a "sunset clause," reports The New York Times, banning cat-owning residents from adopting new felines after their current pets die. While there are only about 35 residents of Omaui, and just seven or eight cats in town, some in town want to phase cats out entirely in order to protect the rare birds in the area.

Preservationists have been working to rid New Zealand of cats for years, even though the island nation has sky-high rates of cat ownership. No mammal is native to New Zealand, save a few bat species, meaning invasive critters like rats and yes, cats, pose a threat to the island's birds. In Omaui, the cat ban proposal is welcomed by some, who point out that cats can't help but hunt local birds, but others say they're important in keeping the rodent population under control.

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"Once you lose the cats, you've lost the ability to control the nasties in the bush,” Omaui resident Terry Dean told the Times. He and his 34 neighbors have eight weeks to consider the proposal, which would require local cats to be microchipped, neutered, and registered, and would bar any new feline from coming to town after a six-month grace period. Until Omaui residents decide how to handle the whiskered invasion, Dean said, the relationship between the town's cat owners and bird conservationists has become "a bit awkward." Read more at The New York Times.