STERILISATION OF CATS
JAAN has been active for over 11 years in Jakarta and in other parts of Indonesia. We have a very active street cat sterilisation program. W housing complexes, neighbourhoods and markets where we catch cats, sterilise and vaccinate them and finally return them to the area they came from. The Indonesian Government also runs many various sterilisation drives. Why? There are many benefits to sterilising cats:
Sterilisation reduces the number of unwanted kittens Stray cats reproduce very quickly, and one single pair of cats can be responsible for thousands of unwanted kittens over the course of just a few years. Street cats and kittens are among the most vulnerable animals. They are often the subjects of abuse such as people pouring scalding water or boiling oil on them, tying their necks with rubber bands, breaking their legs, or injuring them in other terrible ways. Infections are very common and many street cats die a slow and painful death without medications. Many simply starve to death or are killed by being hit by cars or motorcycles.
Besides reducing the population of stray cats, sterilisation improves the health of the cats, thereby improving the quality of their lives. In addition, the vaccinations protect them against disease that can make them sick and can affect humans. A healthy cat population in an area keeps away other stray cats that may bring illness to that area. Removing cats from an area is absolutely counterproductive. When you take away the current resident cats – the area will very soon be replaced by newcomers which are not sterilised or vaccinated! Then the process of sterilising and vaccinating must start all over again – a costly and unnecessary undertaking.
Moreover, this counter productive action of disposing of (in a way: killing) cats living in neighbourhoods sets a very poor example and sends a negative message about the compassion of the community at large. Each citizen should learn the good values of responsibility and compassion towards their immediate living environment.
Ethical and compassionate solutions can easily be found to conflict issues raised by a person or two, who don‘t understand the importance of teaching kindness towards innocent animals. Bringing harm to the voiceless animals is never the solution.
We can‘t ignore the fact that we share this planet with all other species, cats, dogs and other stray animals are found all over the world. As responsible adults We have a moral duty and responsibility to teach people to always do what is right and not harm living beings. We have a collective duty to teach people a sense of compassion towards their fellow man and towards all living beings.
