Hutt City cat owners are now required to have their feline friends desexed and microchiped, to comply with a new council bylaw

Concerns mounted for native bird populations after local cats wiped out nests of indigenous chicks.

Hutt City Council yesterday voted to make the microchipping and desexing of domestic cats compulsory, to overwhelming community support.

Ninety-two percent of 564 respondents favoured of the move.