WA cat trappers are standing by, ready to help government with their cat management programs from November 1.
Local government areas should implement a trapping strategy if feral cats become a problem in the area according to a former feral animal controller, who wished no tho be named, in response to the new Cat Act due to come into effect on November 1.
Under the act all cats must be microchipped, sterilised and registered with local government from the age of six months in an attempt to reduce the number of stray cats being euthanised each year.
It was estimated about 5,000 feral cats were euthanised each year.
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“The destruction of feral cats is very humane.”
So along with major animal welfare and cat groups, happy to help local government with trapping and killing cats, there is also a who industry of pest control providers also willing to lend a hand. Both groups stand by the assertion ‘killing cats is super dooper humane and good for their welfare’.
This unnamed trapper goes on to suggest that local governments should expand “the hire of cat traps to the public” as giving out cat traps to every psycho and cat hater “… is usually the quickest option without upsetting neighbours or animal lovers and can be done in the backyard.” Confirming that the cats who are set to be targeted under these new laws aren’t roaming in bush, but are urban cats who may or may not be people’s pets.
Killing 5,000 cats a year gives WA one of the lowest cat kill rates in the country. Trapping more cats, expanding private cat trapping programs, giving charities and local council extra cash and resources to trap cats – none of these are strategies can be reasonably expected to “reduce the number of stray cats being euthanised each year”.
But there will many people making fistfuls of cash ‘humanely’ killing cats. Cat ‘welfare’ and cat ‘extermination’ programs are completely indistinguishable in WA.
This is crazy…no councils are counting down to cat day. Most of them havent even started and dont want to know others are ring around getting on board rescue groups and most certainly will be trapping according to the trapping guidelines. There is only one law and that is desex and microchip within 6 months of owned cats. Where is the law that says every stray be rounded up.
Council must hire out cat traps with the RSPCA trapping guidelines and must notify people they are trapping and advertised a cat when they trap it to see if it is owned. These are strict guidelines. Being a council does not mean you do not have to follow guidelines of animal cruelty or the law.
yahooooo
I disagree with the trapping schemes used to catch wild cats. These cats can be tamed and in many cases rehomed. They are NOT the huge problem some people might claim, and certainly should be shown some sympathy by us and not victimised just because they haven,t got homes.
There are of course plenty of rats in the wild which might provide some food for them, not to mention being destructive to people and agriculture. It would be better to tame some of these cats and rehome them.