The B.C. SPCA is challenging municipalities to align regulations with its push to address the province’s cat overpopulation problem.
Last week, the organization launched a new five-year plan with a primary focus on felines. The SPCA has invested millions in low-cost spay and neuter programs, but more needs to be done, the society’s chief executive officer Craig Daniell said in a statement.
Municipalities can take steps to reduce the number of homeless cats, including introducing mandatory pet identification so that cats can be returned to their guardians if they get lost.
Officials can also enact bylaws that require spaying and neutering of cats with outdoor access, Daniell noted.
“Pet overpopulation is a completely preventable problem and we are challenging every community in B.C. to work with us over the next five years to be part of the solution,” he said.
Feral cats aren’t an issue in Squamish thanks to wildlife that call them dinner, but owners’ failure to spay and neuter their cats is a growing concern, said the local SPCA branch supervisor.
“Every year the number of animals are going up and up and the big thing is kittens,” Marika Donnelly told The Chief.
Last year the branch housed 311 animals, most of which were cats. The local SPCA dished out more than $85,000 in 2013 on bills for cats arriving at the facility from within district boundaries.
Kitten season typically hits in August, Donnelly said. During that time period it’s not unusual for the branch to have more than 70 kittens under its care, she noted.
The District of Squamish advocates spaying and neutering all pets, but it’s not a bylaw requirement, nor are officials considering it at the moment, Kristine Day, the municipality’s manager of bylaw and animal control, wrote in an email to The Chief.
The district also advocates permanent tattoos or microchips and personal identification tags to help in the return of lost or wayward pets, she wrote. The district only requires licensing on dogs.
“We are fortunate in Squamish in that we don’t have a feral cat problem,” Day said.
“We’ve had to deal with feral cats from time to time, but certainly not feral populations.”
For info visit www.spca.bc.ca/branches/squamish.
