Member society pressure pays off for Belgian cats
© GAIA
GAIA, a Belgium-based WSPA member society, worked with fellow animal welfare groups to successfully pressure the Flemish government to ban the shooting of cats from 2010.
In just two months, GAIA, Blauwe Wereldketen, Vlaamse Vereniging voor Dierenbescherming, Dieren in gevaar/Animaux en Péril, APMA, Help Animals, Veeweyde, BLID and others collected over 175,000 signatures against the cat hunt, which is used as an ineffective means of population control in the Flemish region of Belgium.
A change in law
A decree passed by the Flemish Government on 25 April stated that the ‘control of the population of feral cats by means of the gun will only be permitted until the 2009–2010 hunting season inclusive’. A government press release confirmed that the shooting of cats will cease in 2010.
"Our protest actions against the shooting of cats have borne fruit. Minister Crevits and the Flemish government are acting in accordance with the wishes of almost 8 Flemish people in 10, who want a ban", said GAIA chairman Michel Vandenbosch. “Of course, we would have preferred these barbaric practices to cease with effect from 1 July 2008. But the main thing is that this new regulation will ensure that the killing will end within a reasonably short term."
Between 1 July 2008 and 1 July 2010 cats may still be shot, but only ‘as a last resort’ and if it can be shown that the cats are ‘causing environmental damage to fauna’.
Humane initiatives welcomed
Delighted to have influenced the decree, the animal welfare organisations also welcomed the introduction of humane population management measures announced by the government, including the spaying of female cats.
The Flemish government stated that awareness-raising and regulatory measures should be taken as soon as possible to solve the problem of feral cats in an animal-friendly way.
These will include encouraging owners to have their cats neutered or spayed to keep the population under control, and local authorities will receive subsidies for prevention and awareness-raising initiatives to tackle the problem of feral cats
The chairman of the environment committee in the Flemish Parliament, Patrick Lachaert (Open VLD) has announced that he intends to table a resolution calling upon the government to conduct a policy of prevention by means of neutering.
Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA)
Website: http://www.gaia.be/
Email: info@gaia.be