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Belgium planning major cat sterilization program
by Barb Kohn
The Belgian government has proposed a major cat sterilization program to spay/neuter all cats except exotic breeds within the next five years. The U.K.Guardian reports that if passed into the law, the phased sterilization program would begin next year along with a ban on using "corner ships, noticeboards and small ads to get rid of unwanted kitten litters.”
The cat population in Belgium, a country of 11 million, stands at 1.7 million, according to the Guardian. Daily culling of cats has resulted in some 13,000 killed in shelters, which represents one in three of the country’s strays.
Siamese cats would be exempt from the proposed Belgian mandatory cat sterilization effort Photo: B.Kohn
The resulting proposed legislation called the Multi-Annual Cat Plan 2011-2106 would initially require all cats in shelters to be sterilized. The next phase would require neutering of cats from breeders and sellers. In the final phase, all cat owners would be required to have their pets sterilized and registered. Breeders and owners of Siamese, Abyssinian and other special pedigrees would be exempt.
The Guardian reports that many are skeptical about the proposal - either because it won’t be easy to implement or because pet owners would refuse to do it. However, the animal welfare lobby is reported to be strongly supportive of the proposed legislation.
The Guardian says this is the first national compulsory sterilization effort and will be watched closely in other countries dealing with escalating cat populations. A cat can have one pregnancy every six moths resulting in as many as 36 kittens in less than 15 months, reports a director with Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA), a Belgian animal rights group.
Barb Kohn is a communications consultant. She has a passion for the welfare of animals and has volunteered with many San Francisco Bay Area rescue and shelter organizations, including Homeless Cat Network, Peninsula Fix Our Ferals, Pets in Need and Furry Friends Rescue. She also is the National Cats Examiner for the Examiner.com.
