Last month I wrote about Monash Council’s plans to pass mandatory desexing laws (even though by the City’s own numbers, 98% of the owned cat population in the city is already desexed), and a ban on the feeding of strays.
Now, if you or I were to have a cat, and we were to stop feeding it, that would be quite rightfully deemed ‘cruelty’. Because withholding food from a cat is inhumane. However, if the cat that is an unowned stray, starving it is not only going to be the law in Monash, doing so has now got endorsement from the RSPCA:
RSPCA Victoria has welcomed moves from Monash Council to crack down on feral cats.
As part of a review of Local Law No. 3, the council is proposing to introduce bans on feeding uncaged animals, with a $300 penalty, and implement mandatory cat desexing.
RSPCA Victoria executive manager of animal services Helen Cocks said the laws would help combat surging populations of wild cats in the area.
…
She said residents who fed stray cats needed to understand the repercussions of what they were doing.“Residents often feed stray cats that appear on their property, as they feel sorry for the animal,” she said.
Those Whiskas-can tapping MONSTERS. Luckily for us all, while our first instinct may be to feel compassion for a hungry animal, so ‘wild’ she wanders up to our doorstep and begs for food – thankfully we have the RSPCA to guide us on more appropriate animal care. As anyone knows, if you starve a cat they don’t actually linger, struggle and suffer to death, but they, I dunno… they get absorbed into the air or some such thing… but that’s not important.
What IS important is that every person who cares for a stray gets a $300 fine for their trouble – and that punishing people who dare to care for animals is RSPCA APPROVED!
Residents who spot a cat are urged to contact the council or the RSPCA. While this partnership kills 60% of cat intakes, don’t let the cat’s likely death deter you. Starving cats or actively killing cats – either is absolutely fine with the RSPCA Victoria.
Rant on; When will the insanity end? Stopping people giving strays food cats is the RSPCA Victoria’s ‘answer’ to strays. THAT’S NOT AN ANSWER! People can’t feed cats who DON’T ALREADY EXIST, and not feeding them doesn’t make them suddenly stop existing. This behaviour is widespread because CATS ARE WIDESPREAD. Demanding your community be less compassionate is a ridiculous, short-sighted and damaging to our supposed mission of encouraging people treat animals better, not worse. We’re stuck with this ridiculous, ineffective approach of ‘call us and we’ll kill em’ because this organisation hasn’t got the kahoonas to stand up to local councils and stop accepting cash money to offer a boutique slaughterhouse service for cats who have no hope of ever being housepets.
What solutions are available then? I don’t agree with mandatory desexing and doubt they will be able to enforce the feeding of stray cats. Currently my council does nothing in regards to semi-owned/community/feral cats but there is a big push to trap in the wildlife areas. Pests/Enviro departments will never agree to TNR here…
“What solutions are available then” ….. as long as we don’t look at the actual solutions, because we don’t like those?
Yeah – you’re asking the wrong question :)
We need to be looking at what the obstacles are to TNR – then working to overcome them. At the moment the biggest obstacle is the RSPCA themselves – they’re happy to keep killing cats, while simultaneously asking for donations in the name of cat protection. We have to tell cat lovers that this is not acceptable. Their polices need to change, or the donations from cat lovers (who, let’s face it, make up likely 50% of their donor base) need to go to more compassionate organisations.
If the RSPCA was to change their position re: urban strays (which is EXACTLY what these cats are – they’re not feral, they’re suburban, close-living, unowned animals), then councils would be forced to invest in humane solutions.
TNR might never even need to be mentioned. If the situation is individual cat people, feeding individual cats, then let’s stop demonising those people and HELP them to help us. A widespread ‘community cat’ carer promotion – we’ll desex that stray cat you’re feeding for nought. Nada. Zilch. You just keep on feeding her and making sure she’s ok, and we’ll do the snippy bit for you. Problem solved.
But all the while the RSPCA and councils are in alignment with a kill-based policy, that is what we’ll get. No matter how much we wax and clutch pearls and claim to want to see an end to shelter killing, if we’re not willing to push through to the actual solutions, we will always have shelters full of cats. Unowned cats do not care about laws, and as a population they’re not going anywhere. We have to look at what actually works.
I am feeling sad because I fail to understand this stand of yours RSPCA.So much of your good effort, goodwill seems to be a waste as the public and dedicated followers of animal rights and animal lovers are beginning to question you on your status as an organisation which lately have not in my opinion stand up against the cruelty towards all creatures big and small…
Totally let down reading this article and how you carelessly disregard the value of LIFE in itself.Sad day for a big decision like this.It’s a crying shame because RSPCA I know you can do better than this.
Yours sincerely
Esah Cunnington.
It’s just going more and more insane… I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Disgusting. I will not be surprised if the next generation of young people will care less than nothing about being compassionate.
Wait a minute… So, they think that feral cats are a threat to wildlife. (Let’s just for a second assume that’s true, even though we know better.) If people fed these cats, wouldn’t they be less likely to be part of the perceived problem then?
RSPCA making no sense since 1981.
…sometimes I get so over your attacks on the RSPCA.
I read the newspaper article on this issue and RSPCA encouraged people who feed strays to take ownership of the cats and they said they welcomed the mandatory desexing. Your comments are not reflective of media article. Informed accurate debate is a positive thing for animal welfare but misleading information just takes us backwards.
Yup, nope.
The RSPCA know better than anyone that applying a ‘pet cat’ approach to non-pet cats and the issue suburban strays cannot and will not improve outcomes. How is someone supposed to ‘take ownership’ of a cat they see randomly and isn’t tame? How many people are willing to sink a few hundred dollars into a cat they have no control over and will never be a house pet?
The ‘take ownership’ message is a prevarication – a lie deliberately told to avoid discussing the reality – that the RSPCA has no humane solution for these cats and refuses to embrace anything but a kill-centric approach.
Starving cats by fining cat feeders should have the RSPCA running a campaign AGAINST this council. Instead the RSPCA are rubber-stamping their anti-stray stance and supporting a reduction in care for these already vulnerable animals.
I agree the RSPCA can do better, and apparently they have lots of money too. But why are cats suddenly being portrayed as such a collossal problem? Most of them can go walk-about now and then and they are NOT causing any great problems at all. We have plenty of cats in our area, both domestic and stray, and yet there are also plenty of marsupials and birds waiting to chew up every vegetable which you can plant.
I think that the local government has lost it’s nut or something, they should CHANGE their legislation and make it more responsive and considerate towards ALL the animals. Don’t just pick one or two and forget the rest!