The German Animal Welfare Federation and the German Animal Welfare Federation Schleswig-Holstein support the initiative of the Schleswig-Holstein SPD parliamentary group for a cat protection ordinance for the northernmost federal state. This should include a state-wide castration, identification and registration obligation for outdoor cats. Together, the federations are appealing to the members of the state parliament to vote for the corresponding motion at the meeting on September 20. The animal welfare campaigners are also hoping for approval for two motions tabled by the FDP, which provide for adequate funding for cat neutering campaigns and support for local animal shelters.
"The suffering of stray cats living on industrial wasteland, farms or in allotments in Schleswig-Holstein is dramatic. The hungry animals are constantly looking for food, mostly sick and in constant danger, for example from car traffic. Many kittens die miserably in the first few months of their lives," explains Ellen Kloth, Chairwoman of the German Animal Welfare Federation Schleswig-Holstein. Uncontrolled breeding is also one of the main reasons why many animal shelters are overcrowded. "We therefore appeal to the members of the state parliament to vote in favor of the motions." The President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, Thomas Schröder, adds: "With a state-wide cat protection ordinance, Schleswig-Holstein would be one of the pioneers in cat protection in Germany. In addition, the state and local authorities need to provide permanent financial support for neutering campaigns in order to tackle the animal welfare problem in the long term and sustainably."
ANIMAL WELFARE ACTIVISTS CALL FOR NATIONWIDE CAT PROTECTION
At state level, only Berlin currently has an effective ordinance on cat protection. In addition, the state parliament of Lower Saxony passed a cat protection ordinance in June; however, the state government has yet to implement it. In 2014, Schleswig-Holstein transferred the authorization of the federal states to issue cat protection ordinances, as formulated in Section 13b of the Animal Protection Act, to the municipalities. Only Mölln, Ratzeburg and the Nordsee-Treene authority have made use of this so far; in Lauenburg, there is only an obligation to identify and register cats. "Cats don't stop at the municipal border. For cat protection to work, we need nationwide solutions," says Kloth. A cat protection ordinance for Schleswig-Holstein is therefore an important step in the right direction.
Animal Welfare Federation President Schröder also addresses his appeal to federal politicians and makes it clear: "The suffering of street cats is not a local problem, but a nationwide animal welfare problem. We are therefore calling for a nationwide regulation for more cat protection, which stipulates the obligation to neuter outdoor cats as well as their identification and registration in a pet register such as FINDEFIX." The fact that a nationwide neutering obligation would be proportionate is proven by a current legal opinion in the Cat Protection Report by the German Legal Society for Animal Protection Law, which was prepared in support of the "Big Cat Protection Report" by the German Animal Welfare Federation.
