MANILA, Philippines - While Filipinos wrangle over the contentious House Bill No. 5043, popularly dubbed the RH Bill, another kind of population explosion continues to adversely affect many who are products of unwanted pregnancies. They are cats and dogs, born in a world where they have no place to call home. They need to be spayed or neutered. They need their own RH Bill.
The Internet is rife with claims that one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in seven years. One female dog and her offspring can spawn 67,000 puppies in six years. Nobody seems to know the basis for these figures, and some biologists have questioned the math, but with thousands of homeless animals roaming the streets, the exact number may not be important.
Overpopulation is the real issue and many organizations say that spaying or neutering is the best solution.
One non-profit, non-government organization devoting much of its energy and resources to reducing pet overpopulation is CARA (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals). As it marks 12 years of volunteer work in the country, CARA is doing its best to provide this type of medical care to as many cats and dogs as possible.
In the case of cats, CARA said over 30 years of documented proof show that trap-and-kill method has no lasting effect on reducing feral cat populations and is simply ineffective, expensive and cruel. Even if all the cats are removed, new un-neutered cats move in and will quickly reproduce.
CARA advocates Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) as the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling the feral cat population.
Using the TNR method, all feral cats in a colony are trapped, neutered and then returned to their territory. Last April, a CARA team of two veterinarians and five volunteers successfully implemented a TNR operation on Corregidor Island that benefited 19 feral cats. The animals were trapped a day before the scheduled surgery from different parts of the island and were subsequently returned to their respective areas after they recovered from the procedure.
CARA sees Corregidor as a perfect venue to demonstrate the effectiveness of a TNR feral cat management plan. Since Corregidor is an island, there is very little chance that it will get a steady flow of migrant cats from other areas. CARA believes Corregidor, aside from being a top tourist destination, can also one day become a haven for cats if they could fix the current generation of kitty boomers there.
CARA believes a feral cat management plan that includes TNR can have a dramatic impact in reducing cat populations while giving cats peaceful lives in their territories and still having enough of them to keep rodents in check. Spay and neuter methods can also put an end to the exasperating caterwauling and fighting among cats during their mating and breeding season. In the end, even humans benefit when they take the informed choice of managing their cats’ reproductive health following internationally recognized animal rights standards.
D-I-Y TNR
If it takes a village to raise a child, it’s the same with cats. CARA is urging like-minded cat lovers to work as a team in getting village associations and residents to financially and operationally support TNR operations in their neighborhoods. CARA guarantees their sponsorships will result in benefits that will outweigh the expenses for traps, cages, medical and pet food supplies.
Yes, it involves costs, so it’s small wonder the places with TNR programs of their own are the posh villages in Makati that includes Dasmariñas, Forbes Park, Bel Air and San Lorenzo, as well as The Fort and the Makati Polo Club.
What about the Fidos and Figaros from the boroughs and the ghettos? CARA runs a clinic in Malate that offers low-cost spay and neuter services for native dogs and cats at least six months old. They only charge P700 (female) and P500 (male) for cats, and P1,700 (female) and P1,500 (male) for dogs. Typically, a private clinic charges P3,500 for a female cat.
A Caravan Of Good
CARA was formed 12 years ago by a dedicated group of animal lovers headed by Nancy Cu Unjieng to help the disadvantaged animals in the Philippines. They rely solely on private donations and don’t even own a shelter for the animals they rescue. The four CARA officers and 33 members take rescued animals to their own homes until they are adopted. CARA’s website at caraphil.org also provides a virtual home for these animals so more people could see them and, hopefully, adopt them.
CARA would love for the government to adopt serious efforts to strengthen and implement the Animal Welfare Act 8485. CARA also wants the government to adopt real measures to crack down on dog meat trade, improve the conditions at dog pounds, and shut down puppy mills and monitor pet shops for animal abuse.
Yes, Mr. President, man’s best friend is hounded by problems. Many of these will go away if there’s something like a government-endorsed RH Bill for pets that promotes spaying and neutering instead of trapping and gassing.