Authorities at the little-known island of Teuri in northern Japan have taken a novel approach to tackling its stray cat problem with the offer of free ferry trips to anyone who will take the felines off their hands.

The Haboro Town Office, Hokkaido, which administers Teuri Island, said the stray cats were jeopardizing native seabird population.

It said in a bid to address the issue, and promote tourism, it would provide a coupon for a round-trip ferry ride to the island from the ferry terminal in town for anyone willing to foster a cat.