The German Animal Welfare Federation and its Lower Saxony State Animal Welfare Federation are once again supporting the state-wide cat neutering campaign, which will start in Lower Saxony on November 1, 2023. Animal welfare organizations, animal shelters and feeding site caretakers will then have the opportunity to take advantage of free neutering by veterinarians for free-roaming street cats. The campaign is expected to run until November 28. The German Animal Welfare Federation and the Lower Saxony State Animal Welfare Federation are contributing a total of 20,000 euros to the campaign.
"Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the crisis and the additional costs resulting from the increase in the scale of fees for veterinarians (GOT), we are delighted to see that the state of Lower Saxony is once again taking responsibility and continuing to support the neutering campaigns for street cats," says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. Dieter Ruhnke, Chairman of the Lower Saxony Animal Welfare Federation, makes it clear: "Neutering is the only way to break the vicious circle of uncontrolled reproduction and reduce the suffering of cats." In addition to neutering street cats, the future state-wide cat protection ordinance, the introduction of which was decided for Lower Saxony in July, is also crucial for cat protection. Animal welfare activists are waiting impatiently for its swift introduction. The ordinance provides for the neutering of outdoor cats to prevent them from reproducing uncontrollably and thus maintaining the population of street cats. In addition, identification and registration of outdoor cats is mandatory.
As domesticated pets, cats are dependent on human care. Without this support, the mostly hidden street animals often suffer from malnutrition and undernourishment, parasites and infectious diseases such as cat flu. Their life expectancy is often extremely short compared to cats that have a home. The new "Big Cat Protection Report" by the German Animal Welfare Federation shows that the suffering of millions of street cats has become one of the biggest unnoticed animal welfare problems in Germany in recent years.
In order to have street cats neutered free of charge during the campaign period, associations and private cat protectors must register with the vets and confirm in writing that the cats are not animals living in private households. After neutering, the cats are marked with a transponder with a microchip, registered with FINDEFIX, the pet register of the German Animal Welfare Federation, and released back at the place of capture after a period of observation. There, the cats are observed at controlled feeding stations, fed and given medical treatment if necessary. This is the seventh time since the project was launched in spring 2018 that animal welfare activists have carried out the state-wide castrations in Lower Saxony in collaboration with the state animal welfare officer and the veterinary profession. So far, more than 15,120 cats have been neutered.
Note to the editor: You can find the "Big Cat Protection Report" as a PDF on the website of the current "Every cat's life counts!" campaign of the German Animal Welfare Federation at: www.jetzt-katzen-helfen.de
