January 3, 2010Comments are closed.cats, mandatory desexing
When animal welfare groups lobby for cat welfare, we generally campaign to enact a host of cat control measures; compulsory registration, microchipping, desexing and confinement laws. These we say, are the key to reducing cat euthanasia and neglect.
But what happens in a community when everything we wish for… comes true?
One council in Victoria could be considered a nirvana for cat-law junkies. The City of Casey falls under the 1994 Victorian Domestic Animals Act, which requires the owner of any cat over 3 months of age to be registered with the Council.
And since 2007, all cats in the City of Casey must be microchipped and desexed prior to being registered, effectively bringing about compulsory desexing surreptitiously.
Also in Casey since 1999, has been a 24-hour cat curfew requiring cats be contained to their owner’s property at all times. Residents can use free, council provided cages to trap nuisance, unowned or feral cats in their neighbourhood, the council promotes the “Who’s for Cats” program and go door to door annually checking cat registrations.
So are the community supportive? A 2008 survey of households revealed an extremely high level of compliance, with 99.0% of dogs and 95.4% of cats reported as registered. Over 9,000 cats are registered with the Council.
Every trick in the book
Registration, microchipping, desexing, 24hr cat confinement, and council door knocks to check compliance – The City of Casey have every single cat control law there is, plus huge community support. Have cat euthanasia rates plummeted? Is the City of Casey being lauded by animal welfare groups as the single most successful shire council in the whole of Australia? Can shelter workers pack up their bags and establish new careers as bus drivers and baristas?
Not so much.
From the City of Casey Animal Management Plan 2008 – 2011
Number of Impoundments (Cats) – 783
Cats returned to owner – 102
Cats rehomed – 47
Cats euthanased – 589
Of the 634 cats who weren’t returned or rehomed, 589 were killed. Or over 92%
92%! I’ll just let you have a moment to consider that number.
But it gets worse.
The report goes on to state:
– The number of cat impoundments is 40% higher than the Outer Metropolitan Council Averages.
– Casey has a higher euthanasia rate and lower rehousing rate for cats than Outer Metropolitan Council Averages
Fail.
In fact, when we compare it to another Victorian council, Melton, who without this regressive legislation also kill 92% of their (536) unclaimed/unrehomed cats, there seems to be absolutely no advantage to the cats who fall under The City of Casey’s legislation. Nevertheless, Melton is considering following in Casey’s footsteps in 2010.
And as for the claimed reduction in cat impoundments (and therefore euthanasia), even with compulsory legislation up the wazoo Casey’s impounds are not decreasing.
Dogs and cats impounded
2001/02 – 1,799
2002/03 – 1,074
2003/04 – 2,016
2004/05 – 2,017
2005/06 – 2,230
2006/07 – 2,444
2007/08 – 2,670
2008/09 – 3,317
Instead, it seems impounds are increasing at the constant rate you’d expect from any growing community.
The fantasy of legal solution
If you’re someone that argues that ‘compulsory legislation will bring down impounds’, then you need to spend some time looking closer at the dozens of local examples to find the truth. Even with every single piece of owner targeted legislation ever invented; registration, microchipping, desexing, 24hr cat confinement, and council door knocks to check compliance, the City of Casey has been unable to solve their cat problem.
Draconian legislation targeting owners was never about actual effectiveness, an improvement in cat welfare, or even saving lives. These laws have never worked to reduce the cat euthanasia rate, ever. Worse, stray and semi-owned animals are targeted, driving up pound killing. We need to stop rolling out programs of this kind that have never produced a successful outcome and start listening to the experience of those groups who are doing things that actually work.
Free cat desexing for disadvantaged owners, community cat support and initiatives which help keep pets in their homes, rather than target them for removal.
