The German Animal Welfare Federation and its Schleswig-Holstein regional association are supporting the autumn campaign for statewide cat neutering in Schleswig-Holstein with a grant of €10,000. During the campaign period, which started today, stray cats can be neutered free of charge in participating municipalities. Neutering can reduce the population of stray cats and thus the suffering of animals that have to live without human care. At the same time, it relieves the burden on animal shelters. The campaign ends on November 30, unless the funds are used up before then.
"There are still many unneutered stray cats living hidden away in allotments, commercial and industrial areas, and other natural parts of Schleswig-Holstein. Their mostly short lives are marked by disease and hunger. Uncontrolled breeding among themselves and with unneutered outdoor cats from private households is a major reason for the overcrowding of animal shelters with cats that has existed for years," says Ellen Kloth, chairwoman of the Schleswig-Holstein regional association and vice president of the German Animal Welfare Federation.
“The neutering campaign is making a significant contribution to curbing the reproduction of street cats and the misery associated with it. However, every private cat owner must also do their part to protect cats by having the cats living in their household neutered, marked, and registered in the FINDEFIX pet registry.” Because every stray cat originally comes from an unneutered cat in a private household, it is important to have these cats neutered as well, according to the Animal Welfare Association. The association is therefore calling for a nationwide neutering requirement for outdoor cats.
The offer in Schleswig-Holstein is primarily aimed at animal welfare associations, but also at other people who bring in stray cats that have been caught in one of the participating municipalities. The person bringing in the animal must confirm that it is a stray cat. After neutering, the cats are marked with a microchip transponder and registered with FINDEFIX, the German Animal Welfare Federation's pet registry. After neutering, the cats are released back into the wild where they were found. During the last campaign in the spring, 1,882 cats were neutered in this way – 1,027 female cats and 855 male cats.
The German Animal Welfare Federation and its regional association are supporting the neutering campaign in Schleswig-Holstein with a joint donation of €10,000. The Schleswig-Holstein regional association would also like to thank the Bastet Foundation and Humane World for Animals for their donations. More information about the campaign, a list of participating municipalities, and all documents can be found on the websites of the state government and the Veterinary Association.
Note to editors: As part of its “Every cat's life counts” campaign, the German Animal Welfare Federation provides information about the suffering of stray cats and the importance of neutering: www.jetzt-katzen-helfen.de
