Organisers of an annual hunt were criticised after announcing a new category for those aged 14 and under to hunt feral cats. On Tuesday, the New Zealand's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was relieved the "children's category which involved shooting feral cats" would not go ahead. One biosecurity expert, Dr Helen Blackie, told Radio New Zealand that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species, as well as the decline in populations of bats, frogs and lizards