At the end of last year, Whyalla Council (SA) used its local media to malign cats, with Ranger Services declaring the City had a “cat problem”. Cats in the city were to be considered a “class one pest”, and that anyone showing cats compassion by giving them a little bit of food were informed that they were breaking the law.
In April this year it followed up this campaign, declaring cat owners irresponsible and that cat registration laws were going to start to be heavily enforced to “get rid of the feral, ill and stray cats that are around.”
The Council’s message was strong and clear – the area is awash with non-caring owners + sick, dying dangerous cats that should be rounded up and gotten rid of.
And, as we see time and time again, now giddily empowered by the local authorities, the cat haters have come out and started doing harm to people’s pets…
Whyalla City Council team leader ranger services Matt Werner says he has not seen animal cruelty this “horrific” in many years.
Following the discovery of two male cats that had been cruelly castrated using elastic bands Mr Werner said the acts of cruelty were horrendous and unlike anything he had ever seen before.
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Mr Werner said it had been an unprecedented time in Whyalla with what seemed a rising animal cruelty rate.Three cats had to be put down after what was believed to be a baiting attempt, along with many other stray cats around the city and two dogs were poisoned.
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“Reports have gone to the RSPCA and they’ve done what they can with it, but if anyone can give us any information it will be kept anonymous,” he said.“We’ll pass it onto the RSPCA so we can hopefully catch out whoever’s done it or if it’s a process going on around town; hopefully we can nip it in the bud.”
Up until 2010 Whyalla Council was found to be gassing pets using an old Holden car motor. In its current effort to manage pets, it had planned to proactively catch and then cull any cats who found themselves on the wrong side of the local laws. Leading the community to a place where pets might be protected and safe seems completely beyond the current animal management department’s scope of ability.
Let’s hope for the animal’s sake that the local community step up and start pushing for a major reform. Harm to cats – whether killing done by a cat hater or a paid council officer – is still harm to cats.
