January 27, 2010Comments are closed.cats, mandatory desexing
One of the most frequently used measures of the success of suburbs and cities is the is the income earning capacity of its residents. Basically, a good income can provide a ‘buffer’ against natural, societal or personal disaster and determine a communities capacity to cope with adversity. Without this buffer, there can be a dangerously fine line for individuals to cross into loss of health, loss of income, mental health problems or poverty.
So what do you call a law that is used to target these vulnerable and disadvantaged people? One that effects those people living in poorer suburbs exponentially more, because they are overrepresented as to be breaking the law?
Discrimination.
The WA government is calling for new cat legislation, requiring cat owners to desex their pets. They’re doing this because the local Cat Haven is swamped with cats;
The eastern Perth suburb of Cannington reported nearly twice the number of dumped cats and kittens in the peak month of December than the next worst performing suburb of Willagee.
According to statistics collected by the Cat Haven, 63 felines were dumped in Cannington, 32 in the southern suburb of Willagee, and 31 in the northern suburb of Balga.
In December, the Cat Haven was inundated with almost 1000 unwanted felines during the biggest cat dumping period of the year.
But to put these ‘eastern suburbs’ in context, they are some of the poorest suburbs in Perth. According to REIWA real estate profiles WA,, the mentioned suburbs had the following median weekly household income;
Cannington ($794)
Willagee ($750)
Balga ($644)
For comparison, the Perth median weekly household income is $1,086, and my own suburb, a relatively average place, is $1,235 (Karrinyup). While a ‘exclusive’ suburb like Subiaco is $1,502.
Comparing the major sources of cats, with the communities they are coming from, it’s obvious that this is a law that primarily targets the poor and disadvantaged; pensioners, low income families and people with mental or physical health issues.
What’s more, studies have shown the primary reason people don’t desex their pets is cost. To target poor owners with legislation, does little to help them afford the surgery.
A study conducted by Harris Interactive for Alley Cat Allies came up with some interesting data. To start with, nearly all pets cats in America — more than 80 percent — are already desexed (note for Australians: studies here have shown we Aussies are up around 95% of owned cats being desexed). And the ones that aren’t didn’t have the misfortune of being owned by deadbeat, idiotic, irresponsible or callous people. No, they’re owned by poor people.
In fact, the single most influential predictor of whether or not a cat is altered is the income level of his or her owner.
Eighty percent of cats in U.S. households are neutered, according to a new, nationally representative study conducted by Alley Cat Allies and published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Association, a leading peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The study, “Population characteristics and neuter status of cats living in households in the United States,” found that family income was the single strongest predictor of whether pet cats living in households are neutered. Over 90% of cats in households earning $35,000 or more per year were neutered, compared to 51% of cats in households earning less than $35,000.
As the study points out, it’s not pet cats (the only ones who would be affected by a mandatory desexing law) who aren’t being altered; it’s unowned strays. And cats represent the largest group of animals being killed in shelters.
It’s worth noting there is no large scale, low cost cat desexing program in WA.
Identifying these sections of society, and offering extra support from government to ensure the populations basic needs are met are always going to have more success than just slapping a new law on a section of the community already struggling with hardship. If we really wanted to cut down on shelter deaths, how about looking to funding targeted desexing Community Cat programs and mandatory assistance to low income pet owners.
If that doesn’t work THEN get giddy with legislation. Chances are it won’t be needed. But don’t put the cart before the horse by bringing in legislation, before enacting the community support to ensure that the poor aren’t targeted and their pets seized and killed for a lack of personal resources.
