Me-Ouch! Man Wants to Rid New Zealand of Cats

Nobody loves cats more than us. After all, where would the internet be without Henri the Existential Cat, Grumpy Cat and Dubstep Cat? Probably firmly under the control of corgis, that's where. So, imagine how dismayed we were to learn that a man has a nutty plan to completely rid New Zealand of all kitties forever for the sake of birds.

Businessman and preservationist Gareth Morgan is leading an anti-cat crusade called "Cats to Go," where he argues that cats are "natural born killers" causing "massive" amounts of damage to New Zealand's bird population "The fact is," says his website, "that cats have to go if we really care about our environment."

So, in order to control the insidious spread of felines, Morgan wants cat owners to keep their pets inside at all times, have them neutered and make them wear bells. In addition -- and this is where things get truly bizarre -- he encourages owners not to replace cats when they die and sign a petition which would provide "eradication facilities" for unregistered cats.

Not surprisingly, cat lovers are up in arms and argue that felines actually help native bird populations by eliminating egg-eating rodents. Plus, removing one predator from New Zealand may only pave the way for the emergence of another, they say.

Whose side are you on?