Tag: Cats

Australian Town Takes Heat Over Feral Cat Bounty

The town of Richmond, in north-western Queensland, Australia, took a lot of heat in July when it announced a $5-a-head bounty for feral cats that are apparently causing problems for native wildlife in the area.

Richmond Mayor John Wharton told ABC Queensland,

A Melbourne university was doing studies between Richmond and Julia Creek about three or four years ago and they were shooting cats at night time, opening them up in the morning and finding up to four different species of animal, either birds or small mice and dunnarts. That’s a lot of wildlife.

The Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticized the bounty, saying that it supports killing feral cats, but not bounties which could encourage hunting feral cats for sport. Queensland RSPCA executive Mark Townend told ABC Queensland,

The RSPCA does supporting the culling [of feral cats] for the preservation of wildlife. But we have to do it in a humane way and I’m very disappointed that people will go off and offer financial incentives to have people who are amateurs out there killing other animals in an inhumane way.

The Richmond council wanted the Local Government Association of Queensland to adopt a $5 bounty throughout the Queensland, but that suggestion was rejected.

Sources:

Council defends feral cat bounty. ABC Queensland, July 6, 2004.

Feral cat cull plan not supported. The Bundaberg Mail Times, July 8, 2004.

Just Your Average, Ill-Informed Activists

Activists with In Defense of Animals protested at the University of California Berkeley on April 19, and brought shovels in an attempt to dig up a courtyard above an underground animal research lab. Police stepped in and confiscated the shovels without incident.

The protest was part of World Week for Animals in Laboratories, and the activists displayed their knowledge of animal research. For example, protester Jennifer Blum told the San Francisco Chronicle,

It’s pretty disgusting to think about what’s happening beneath our feet — monkeys having electrodes implanted in their brains, kittens having their eyes sewed shut.

Just one problem with that thought — according to Helen Diggs, head of Berkeley’s Office of Laboratory Animal Care, the university is not involved in any research involving kittens. Perhaps Ms. Blum should be more concerned about what’s going on in her head more than what’s going on beneath her feet.

Source:

Activists denounce research on animals. Charles Burress, San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 2004.

New Mexico Senate Unanimously Passes Ban on Type of Animal Euthanasia

In February the New Mexico state Senate unanimously approved a bill that would ban the use of intracardiac injection euthanasia in that state. Intracardiac injection kills an animal by injecting barbiturate directly into the heart of the animal.

Sen. Richard Romero, who introduce the bill, said that he sponsored the ban become too often the procedure misses the heart leaving the animals to suffer. Romero told The Albuquerque Tribune,

We need to put a halt to this inhumane practice in our state’s animal shelters right away. This amounts to tormenting and torturing an animal when it’s done without anesthesia or sedation.

The ban will only apply to animal control facilities and animal shelters. The procedure will remain legal in livestock and veterinary facilities.

The full text of the bill can be read here.

Sources:

Senate OKs bill to prohibit type of animal euthanasia. Associated Press, February 11, 2004.

. Albuquerque Tribune (New Mexico), February 12, 2004.

UK Says More Study Needed Before Ban on Dog and Cat Fur Can Be Implemented

In July 2003, British Trade Minister Mike O’Brien said that his office would move to ban the import of cat and dog fur into Great Britain despite concerns of retaliation by countries exporting such products. But in late January, O’Brien said that his office was still gathering information about the extent of the trade in such furs and whether or not it was possible to implement such a ban.

O’Brien said of the matter,

Animal welfare groups have rightly raised serious ethical concerns about the alleged use of domestic cat and dog fur in the UK. Our priority remains the need to establish the facts about the extent of this alleged trade, to ensure there is a valid scientific test that can identify these furs, and to act in a measured way.

We will continue to monitor the situation and I remain sympathetic on the ethics but we do need clear evidence of the size of the problem and its scale in order to act.

In fact, since the July 2003 announcement, only a single dog fur and no cat furs have been detected being imported into Great Britain.

O’Brien seems to be shifting the onus to the European Union to ban dog and cat fur in order to deflect potential repercussions from such a ban away from Great Britain.

Source:

Case ‘not proven’ for ban. GreenConsumerGuide.Com, January 29, 2004.

Britain Backs Moves For EU Ban On Trade In Cat And Dog Fur. Press Release, Department of Trade and Industry, November 7, 2003.

Belgium Enacts Temporary Ban on Cat/Dog/Seal Fur Imports

In January, Belgium announced a temporary ban on the import of fur from dogs, cats and seals. The measure also requires all clothing items containing fur to carry labels to that effect.

The temporary ban is expected to last until the Belgian government can draft a permanent ban on such furs.

Belgium joins Italy, France, Greece, and Denmark as the fifth European country to ban cat and dog fur, which mostly arrives in Europe from Asian countries.

Source:

Belgium bans fur imports. Expatica.Com, January 16, 2004.

West Hollywood Bans Cat Declawing

On April 8 the West Hollywood City Council voted 5-0 to prohibit cat declawing within city limits, becoming the first government entity anywhere in the United States to enact such a ban.

Of course the ban doesn’t prohibit declawed cats from living in West Hollywood, so it’s a matter of just making the drive into Los Angeles to have a cat declawed for those who want their pets to have the procedure (the city is just 1.9 square miles in size).

However, Former West Hollywood Mayor and current California State Assemblyman Paul Koretz promises to introduce a statewide ban into the Legislature sometime this year.

The Chicago Tribune picked up on the point that supporters of the ban likened cat declawing to mutilation, but apparently they don’t see any contradiction with the fact that the city not only allows but actively encourages spaying and neutering of cats (apparently some mutilations are more equal than other mutilations).

Sources:

West Hollywood keeps vets’ paws off cat claws. Vincent J. Schodolski, Chicago Tribune, May 8, 2003.

First cat declawing ban in North America goes into effect. KABC-TV, May 7, 2003.

West Hollywood outlaws declawing of cats. Clara Hall, Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2003.