Loathing towards cats needs to be changed

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Kudos to Debra Tranter from Oscar's Law and all those involved in successfully amending the Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Bill 2016. Banning puppy farming, reforming pet shops who sell companion animals, and limiting the number of breeding females within breeding establishments (Daily, Dec 16)

One hopes that this amended Bill will extend itself right across Australia, reducing the number of healthy cats/dogs that are destroyed for no other reason than being abandoned, homeless or relinquished.

However having said that, spare a thought for those felines that are found wandering, lost, or abandoned.

Relevant city councils are killing cats and kittens that they trap.

They take them back to their pounds, do temperament tests on them and if they don't pass these which is most often the case due to their stress levels, they are immediately destroyed.

Microchipping helps but they migrate, are sometimes faulty, addresses are often not updated, some scanners are better than others and irresponsible people just don't bother.

This loathing that is perpetrated towards cats in particular, is spreading like a virus out into the community.

It also doesn't help that one Queensland council is offering bounties on the heads of wild cats - $10 for cats and $5 for kittens.

There are more than 20 years of documented evidence that this approach in dealing with wild cats does not work. It causes a vacuum effect, one leaves another takes its place.

Love them or hate them, cats do not deserve to be subjected to this form of cruelty, and most at some stage were someone's pet.

ANNELIES CRAIG

Nambour