Should cats be allowed to roam freely? It’s an emotive question with lots of underlying factors. For example, are we talking about cherished cats or feral cats – pets or pests? Does this matter? Legally, dogs must be under control at all times but it’s generally accepted that cats can wander onto neighbouring properties. Even if roaming is legal, is this safe or ethical?
In this activity, students consider nine statements regarding cats and the freedom to roam and decide if the statements are personally acceptable or unacceptable.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- read a variety of statements about cats and their movements
- consider the language used to write the statements
- consider the positive and negative implications of cats wandering freely
- consider te ao Māori concepts and perspectives
- consider the ethics of allowing cats to wander freely
- arrange the statements as personally acceptable or unacceptable
- consider what the arrangement shows about their perception of animals
- justify why they’ve arranged the statements as acceptable or unacceptable.
Download the Word file (see link below).
Supporting activities
Use Roaming cats – draw the line to encourage individual students to contemplate their personal views regarding cats and the freedom to roam. Once students have had the opportunity to arrange the statements, introduce the activities Roaming cats – diamond ranking and Should cats be allowed to roam freely? They offer a similar premise but are group activities giving individuals the opportunity to share their thinking, justify their choices and perhaps modify their perceptions.
Related content
Māori concepts for animal ethics – introduction brings together resources that explore animal ethics with a kaupapa Māori approach. Other resources include:
- Theories of animal ethics
- The Three Rs of animal ethics
- Māori ethical ideas
- How do Māori ideas relate to animal ethics?
Activity ideas
The following activities also explore animals and ethics – using information and perspectives from the articles above:
Acknowledgement
This content has been developed by Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart (Ngāti Kura, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Pare Hauraki), Auckland University of Technology, and Dr Sally Birdsall, University of Auckland, with funding and support from the Ministry for Primary Industries – Manatū Ahu Matua and the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART).
Animals of Aotearoa and animal ethics
Animals of Aotearoa: Kaupapa Māori Summaries and Exploring the Three Rs of Animal Ethics with Māori Ideas were developed with funding from the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) and the Ministry for Primary Industries. The silhouette design was created for this project and is the copyright of Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart and Dr Sally Birdsall.
