jackp

If you can prove that it is not fit for the purpose (you may need to get a written professional opinion if they put up a fight) then you are well and truly covered by the consumer guarantees act. The most important thing is to keep a paper trail (if it becomes a legal battle and you payed cash and have no receipt you may have an issue even proving that the guy built the tank). But before you get too worked up talk to the guy. He may sort it out without an issue. Worst thing you can do is go in there with the fight half way through in your head. It sounds to me like you should be aiming for a refund, if did such a bad job the first time I wouldn't trust him to do it right the second time.

Was kind of hoping to send him off in a bit more style than that. Truth be told I'm not much of a fan of the strip clubs either. Last time I was there (stag do as well) I spent most of the night trying to figure out who was taking advantage of who. Seems to me it's club owners getting rich off the backs of vulnerable young women and lonely men. The places reek of desperation

spent the last month trying to organise a stag do for one of my best mates. he lives in london but is getting married in nz. sent out 16 invites (list provided by groom) just got the last few replies. looks like the stag do will consist of myself and the stag. how the hell do you do a 2 man stag do?

Haha, I got id'd at the supermarket the other day, was quite chuffed till the girl said she realised I was probably like 40 but it was store policy. I'm 32

Knit it some mittens which you can put on it when it leaves the house

Epic collection mate.

the problem is, are they really thinking about it. or have they just got their backs up in self-righteous indignation, completely self assured that it is there right to own uncontrolled pets, regardless of the effects they have on the people and wildlife around them. don't get me wrong, i think it's great he's got people talking about it, and hopefully it gains a bit of traction and something is done about the situation. i just found the mental image of stray gareth morgans quite funny.

haha, how funny would that be. walk behind your local supermarket to find a bunch of mangy wee gareth morgans caught in cage traps. and you know they're never going to be adopted

Not tip there's a policy change. You'll have to be content with neutering him

from the DOC website "The well-known businessman and philanthropist, Gareth Morgan, recently launched a public campaign to reduce the impact of cats on native wildlife. He is advocating for responsible cat ownership and is encouraging people to consider not replacing pet cats when they die. DOC is not involved in this campaign, but we do support responsible cat ownership and management of stray/feral cat impacts in urban areas and outside of conservation land. Cats are a threat to native species. If we find cats on conservation land we treat them as pests. In his campaign Gareth highlights that cats catch and kill more wildlife each year than many cat owners realise. Cats living near bush and wilderness areas can cause extensive damage. This isn’t just a threat to native birds, but also insects and reptiles. Although controversial, we appreciate the work Mr Morgan is doing to bring environmental issues and the plight of our native species to the attention of New Zealanders. We also firmly believe that we must be respectful of cat owners and their rights, and remain sensitive to the love people have for their pets." As with any emotionaly charged argument it pays to take the extreme views with a pinch of salt. Yes Gareth Morgan is a douche, but that doesn't mean that his campaign should be completely ignored. And I'm sorry but I'll take the opinion of DOC experts over people saying "I don't believe cats do that much damage". Yes getting rid of cats completely is extreme and ridiculous, but the current model of cat ownership is equally so. I lived in Wanaka for many years and it was common place for people to come into town (often from overseas) for a year or so, buy a kitten and then abandon it when they left. Just because there are many responsible cat owners out there doesn't mean that everything is fine as it is.

Yes it's better than doing nothing, but that's not setting the bar very high. Personally I think it's insane that the go to the trouble and expense of catching them only to return them to where they were caught.

Based on my knowledge of insulation (houses rather than tanks) I would definitely insulate the garage. Unless you plan on putting poly on all faces of the tank, which would be very efficient but it's not quite the same staring at a large block of polystyrene

Not really a reason to shut it down. If you think it's getting repetitive you could always ignore it. And stopping discussion is hardly a cure for ignorance.

Euthanising and neutering probably cost about the same

The SPCA stopped trapping and euthanising stray cats a little while back and replaced it with their TNR policy. Trap, neuter, release. They claim this is more humane than putting the animals down. This applies to stray cats (urban areas rather than bush etc). The SPCA differentiates between stray cats and feral cats (though the only real difference is location). Go to the SPCA site and search TNR.

personally I think he has voiced an extreme view knowing full well it won't legislated into place. but his main point is that there is little regulation of cat ownership and what little there is is not being enforced. and he doesn't want to simply reduce numbers, he wants them gone (not killed, just not replaced). as i said, i don't agree with him, but i do like that he's got the issue being talked about. if you can try to look at it from a completely neutral position, it is a bit ridiculous that someone is allowed to go buy a cat, let it roam wherever it wants and kill whatever it wants, drop litters of kittens whereever and there is pretty much no chance of any concequences for them. obviosly you are a responsible cat owner, and i can see how you could feel like you're being unfairly attacked in this debate. but the reality is the purpose of it all is to try to get all cat owners to do pretty much what you are doing. i very much doubt that mr morgan thinks he is going to get rid of domestic cats, but i'm sure he'll chalk it up as a victory if there is some measures put into place to reduce the harm that cats do to our wildlife. is it really too much to ask that cat owners de-sex their cats and put bells on them (yes they are not 100% effective, but they do work in many cases).

To eradicate feral cats you have to control domestic cats. That's the point

but what is your opinion based on. conservationists at doc have sited cats as being an appreciable impediment to wildlife conservation. yes it's mainly feral cats, but where do you think they come from? feral cats are domestic cats without domiciles. and you can't look at it on a cat by cat basis. my father used to own a rifle, noone was ever killed by that rifle, therefore gun control is stupid. the reality is that there are enough irresponsible cat owners out there to make it worth considering putting regulations into place. simply making cat owners who are not breeders desex their cats would go a long way to combatting the issues (as would having cat free zones in selected high risk areas). the reality is there is never going to be a perfect solution that results in zero cat related wild-life fatalities whilst protecting cat owners rights to own free roaming cats in abundance. however with a bit of compromise on both sides maybe a solution can be reached that lessens the effect of cats on native wildlife whilst not putting too much of a finacial/management burden on owners.

except there is nothing natural about introducing predators into a predator free environment. yes it would be great for the introduced predator, but not so good for the ill-equipt prey. For the record I don't agree with ridding nz of pet cats. I do however think it's good that there is discussion happening about the issue. Somewhere between Gareth Morgans "get rid of them" stance and the cat lovers "i have a right to own cats and let them do whatever they want" we may find a reasonable solution that allows for both the protection of native species and the continued coexistance of nzers and their moggies.

It could also be argued that letting your cat run free is like giving your Aro access to a community tank

Awaroa is definitely worth a look

Language dude

The point is that there is a lot more that is right than is wrong. And blaming the politicians doesn't achieve much. The things that are truly wrong in this country (domestic violence, child neglect etc) are issues with society not politics. Part of the problem is that far too many people are pointing the finger at government and expecting someone else to fix it rather than taking personal responsibility for what is wrong with their lives and rallying together to make a difference in their communities.

Nothing in life is perfect. This just shows that we've got it better than most. It's not a reason to rest on our laurels, but shows that all the kiwis that spend their life moaning about how tough they've got it should open their eyes and realise that they're better off than the majority of the world. And as for the average kiwi having to rely on welfare, first off I question the legitimacy of the comment and secondly i'd say at least we're in a country that has a welfare system.

So long as it's quick the only real difference is in your head.