WELLINGTON, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand experts have called for proper management of cats to protect native biodiversity.

"New Zealanders have the highest rate of cat ownership in the world, but unfortunately, cats are a major contributor to native biodiversity decline," said a research article published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology on Thursday.

Globally, cats have been implicated in the declines or extinctions of more species than any other invasive predator, it said.

Further research is needed to develop improved methods for monitoring cats and their impact on the environment, and to develop humane, effective, and socially acceptable methods to manage them, said researchers from New Zealand's Landcare Research.

There is also a need to understand any unintended consequences of cat management, such as the proliferation of pests that they prey on or compete with, the article said.

Therefore, any research into cat control has to carefully balance their high value as companion animals with the harmful effect of cats on native wildlife and also, particularly through cats' transmission of toxoplasmosis, on human and animal health, it said. Enditem

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