Cats
Cats are Ireland's 'invisible' shame. Although supposedly protected under the 1911, Protection of Animals Act, there is no real protection for cats in this country. Our attitude towards these creatures is at best, superstitious, at worst, downright cruel.
There are no native wild cats in Ireland, yet terms like 'wild' and 'feral' are bandied about, both in the media and in the Oireachtas. Every domestic cat in Ireland can trace its ancestors back to a family pet and 'wild' or 'feral' cats are no more than abandoned domestic cats or their descendants.
The government appears to be unaware as to the number of cats, abandoned or otherwise, that there are in Ireland. This has been used an excuse to do nothing about the problem for decades. While very little is known about cat numbers in Ireland, a lot of research has been done in the US.
Dr Julie Levy of the University of Florida has carried out extensive studies and came up with a formula for estimating the approximate number of abandoned cats in an area. By simply multiplying the number of households by 0.5, a reasonable estimate may be established. Dr Levy also found that trapping and killing these cats did not solve the problem while trapping, neutering and returning the cats, did.
Based on this formula we can estimate that there are approximately 731,148 free living cats in Ireland. We can also estimate that 180,000 kittens will die in Ireland each year. Many will die a slow and painful death from starvation and illness. In some cases nursing mothers are removed by pest control companies leaving the kittens behind. The old method of drowning young kittens is still used in many parts of the country, while in some part of the country; rescues have discovered kittens tied up in fertiliser bags or rubbish bags. This is the ultimate in disposable living!
These animals did not create this problem; it is the result of human irresponsibility and indifference. Continual overbreeding and abandonment will ensure that many more of these beautiful creatures will suffer a similar fate.
Until cats are recognised as the companion animals that they are, and are given the protection they deserve, we will continue to witness the cruelty towards them. A simple solution to this is, spaying and neutering to reduce the numbers, and trap neuter and return programmes for abandoned cats. Funding needs to be made available from central and local government if a serious effort is to be made to tackle this problem.
If you feel strongly about this issue, please contact your local representative and make him aware of your views. These kittens can't vote, you can, please make it work on their behalf!
There are no native wild cats in Ireland, yet terms like 'wild' and 'feral' are bandied about, both in the media and in the Oireachtas. Every domestic cat in Ireland can trace its ancestors back to a family pet and 'wild' or 'feral' cats are no more than abandoned domestic cats or their descendants.
The government appears to be unaware as to the number of cats, abandoned or otherwise, that there are in Ireland. This has been used an excuse to do nothing about the problem for decades. While very little is known about cat numbers in Ireland, a lot of research has been done in the US.
Dr Julie Levy of the University of Florida has carried out extensive studies and came up with a formula for estimating the approximate number of abandoned cats in an area. By simply multiplying the number of households by 0.5, a reasonable estimate may be established. Dr Levy also found that trapping and killing these cats did not solve the problem while trapping, neutering and returning the cats, did.
Based on this formula we can estimate that there are approximately 731,148 free living cats in Ireland. We can also estimate that 180,000 kittens will die in Ireland each year. Many will die a slow and painful death from starvation and illness. In some cases nursing mothers are removed by pest control companies leaving the kittens behind. The old method of drowning young kittens is still used in many parts of the country, while in some part of the country; rescues have discovered kittens tied up in fertiliser bags or rubbish bags. This is the ultimate in disposable living!
These animals did not create this problem; it is the result of human irresponsibility and indifference. Continual overbreeding and abandonment will ensure that many more of these beautiful creatures will suffer a similar fate.
Until cats are recognised as the companion animals that they are, and are given the protection they deserve, we will continue to witness the cruelty towards them. A simple solution to this is, spaying and neutering to reduce the numbers, and trap neuter and return programmes for abandoned cats. Funding needs to be made available from central and local government if a serious effort is to be made to tackle this problem.
If you feel strongly about this issue, please contact your local representative and make him aware of your views. These kittens can't vote, you can, please make it work on their behalf!
