It's time to end this madness

When Ed Kostro told me about the latest feline waif he encountered, little Harrienyet, in a feral colony, my heart was saddened.  I’ve been to various countries in the world on holiday trips – as I’m sure many of you have also – and see colonies of cats, skinny, some in need of medical attention and kittens running rampant.

Ed is right: until there are laws in place to protect these cats (and dogs), they will never know what it is like to have food whenever they want it; fresh water to drink; toys to play with; a warm home and a loving family.  These are their rights. How unbearably sad is that.

Mandatory neutering and spaying and microchipping for cats AND dogs should be the law.  Perhaps if people took these steps – and thought more about the wellbeing of their pets – there would be fewer cats and dogs that are left to fend for themselves. It’s morally wrong that a female cat should have litter after litter, and many females are still only kittens themselves when they have their first litter.

Of course, this doesn’t address the issue of cruelty and neglect and we should all be vigilant and report pets that are being abused, neglected or have been abandoned to the proper authorities.  And laws should be changed so that any animal that has been abused, or neglected, or killed in the name of ‘sport to put on Facebook’ punishment should be at the highest level for the offenders. Not the pathetic soft options they have now as that is no deterrent to commit further acts of cruelty. 

If I oversaw matters – and perhaps it’s a good thing I’m won’t! – I would carry out the same act of cruelty on the perpetrator as they did to the animal.  Let them see what it feels like when they’ve inflicted unbearable pain and suffering to a poor defenceless animal.

As Ed says at the end of his piece on Little Harrienyet: Please Adopt, Don’t Shop, For Your Next Pet.  And Please Spay and Neuter and Microchip Your Own Pets.