A new expert opinion by the German Society for Animal Welfare Law (DJGT) confirms the proportionality of a nationwide castration requirement for outdoor cats, which the German Animal Welfare Federation has been calling for for years. Until now, the German government had denied this - as stated in the explanatory memorandum to Section 13b of the Animal Welfare Act from 2012. This section was created with the aim of protecting street cats under animal welfare law. It enables the federal states to issue ordinances to protect cats or to delegate this to their local authorities. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Section 13b, the federation draws a sobering balance: since Paderborn pioneered the first mandatory neutering ordinance in 2008, only 11 percent of municipalities and local authorities have followed suit. From an animal welfare perspective, the aim of Section 13b has not even come close to being achieved. The situation of street cats still poses major challenges for most animal welfare organizations.
"Austria and Belgium are leading the way and introduced a nationwide castration requirement for outdoor cats years ago. The legal opinion shows that such an obligation would also be possible for Germany. After all, the misery of cats in Germany is immense - several million street cats suffer every day and many die at a young age," says Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "Our animal welfare organizations are reporting rising numbers and are increasingly reaching their limits when it comes to neutering and caring for these animals. We need a nationwide neutering obligation for outdoor cats! Now!", says Schröder.
NATIONWIDE MANDATORY NEUTERING FOR OUTDOOR CATS WOULD BE PROPORTIONATE
Linda Gregori and Barbara Felde from the DJGT have written an expert opinion on the legal situation, in particular on the possibility of issuing cat protection ordinances, in support of the recently published cat protection report by the German Animal Welfare Federation. The legal opinion confirms that a nationwide castration obligation for outdoor cats would be proportionate. The expert opinion also states that animal welfare law must also have a preventative effect and that individual animals must be protected.
Neutering obligations on the basis of Section 13b or on a regulatory basis, which usually require cats to be identified and registered in addition to neutering, only exist in more than 1,000 German cities and municipalities - a patchwork quilt. Many cat owners do not know whether or not there is a neutering obligation for cats with uncontrolled outdoor access in their place of residence. The local animal welfare organizations, which have to take in unwanted kittens or kittens found on the street every year, are permanently at the limits of their capacity. In order to reduce the number of street cats in Germany and stop the vicious circle of uncontrolled reproduction, the German Animal Welfare Federation is therefore calling for a nationwide regulation for more cat protection, which includes mandatory castration, identification and registration of outdoor cats. At the same time, street cats should be neutered nationwide in regular campaigns and also identified and registered.
Note to the editors: You can find the cat protection report as a PDF and the DJGT report at: www.jetzt-katzen-helfen.de. Click here to go directly to the report: www.jetzt-katzen-helfen.de/politische-verantwortung
