Biodiversity in New Zealand Wildlife

7. Your Pet is a Pest

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

understand that domestic pets are a threat to our wildlife and biodiversity;
demonstrate full spectrum thinking.

Teaching and learning activites

Watch the video My Cat Did That, made by the Rotorua, Bay of Plenty conservancy office, of the Department of Conservation. It is available for loan from your local office of the Department of Conservation, or to buy from DOC, Box 1146, Rotarua, s.campbell@doc.govt.nz

Discuss these facts:

In 1987, a dog was on the loose in the Waitangi State Forest, Bay of Islands. For six weeks it rampaged through the forest. By the time the dog was caught as many as 500 of the 900 kiwi living there had been slaughtered.

Wild and unwanted cats dumped in the bush and countryside are chewing through our native wildlife, from small insects to eels, freshwater crayfish, native fish, birds, lizards, and kiwi chicks.

Many sub-division sections today are sold with a covenant attached restricting prospective buyers from owning pets, as they severely impact on the surrounding indigenous wildlife. Contact your local Department of Conservation (DOC) town planner for more information on this subject.

Use Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats. Some pre-teaching will be required for students to fully benefit and understand this way of full spectrum thinking. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman/Creative/Techniques/sixhats.htm

Divide the class into groups of six. Each student has a hat or symbol to represent the six coloured hats within each group.

Give students the following scenario to discuss and work through in their various roles.

Your family is moving to a new city and is required to live in a property adjacent to a state forest. As the forest is a home to many kiwi, and other native birds, people are not allowed to own pets. You have a pet dog and a suggestion has been made to have the dog put down at the local veterinary surgery.