ROYAL NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

For release: 10 March 2007

SPCA Dismisses Objections To Rescued Cats’ De-Sexing

The Royal New Zealand SPCA has dismissed complaints from breeders concerning its plans to de-sex the severely neglected cats found this week on a Central North Island farm.

A total of 161 cats and 86 dogs were discovered on Monday by SPCA inspectors, when they raided the property between Woodville and Dannevirke. Many of the cats were diseased, emaciated and/or dehydrated, while approximately one third of the dogs were being kept in unacceptable conditions.

“All of the cats have now been surrendered to the SPCA. Despite what they’ve been through, we hope that at least some of them will recover and prove capable of being re-homed. As with all animals in the SPCA’s care, we will ensure they are de-sexed, after they have recovered from their ordeal and before allowing them to be adopted,” says Jim Boyd, leader of the Society’s National Operations Team, which carried out the raid.

“A number of breeders have been in contact with us objecting to the de-sexing of the cats, many of which are from comparatively rare breeds and might be considered as breeding stock. One breeder even described it as ‘criminal’ to de-sex these animals and destroy what he claimed was a valuable bloodline.

“Frankly, we can’t agree with these objections. All of se cats have had a traumatic time and should not be exposed to the further trauma involved in being part of a breeding programme. The best we can hope for them is that they end up in loving homes, where they are cared for as part of the family.

“We also refute the claim that we’re sticking to our de-sexing policy with excessive rigidity. We have this policy because there are simply too many cats in New Zealand for their own good. Far too many of them receive grossly inadequate care and attention, as clearly exemplified by the wretched creatures we discovered on the raid.

“The SPCA exists to promote the welfare of animals and to prevent cruelty to them. Whilst we appreciate the concerns of breeders, these concerns should carry far less weight than the health and happiness of the cats themselves,” he says.

Mr Boyd adds that he has received a number of emails from people claiming to be the owners of some of the cats seized by the SPCA. He says these cats are now the SPCA’s property, having been officially surrendered to the Society by the farm’s owner, who was also the legal owner of the animals.

ends

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