TODAY
Strays' welfare matters
05:55 AM Oct 02, 2010
Letter from Veron Lau Vice-President Cat Welfare Society
I REFER to the report "AVA denies allegations that stray animals suffered in pound" (Sept 30).
It often makes people responsible feel better that the animal be put down by humane euthanasia.
However, humane euthanasia only refers to the way that the animal is put down, by injection, but glosses over an entire sequence of events leading up to this procedure - the trapping and handling of the animals by often untrained personnel from the pest control companies or home owners and the physical and mental deterioration of the animals before the termination of their life.
We have not known of any pest control contractors having the practice of transferring animals to a proper animal carrier after trapping, which is a common practice for animal welfare groups and volunteers trapping for sterilisation.
This is often the cause of injuries sustained when the animal thrashes around in fear inside the metal trap. The trapped cats may urinate or defecate from the stress. Their waste matter also stays on and corrodes the metal cages. The affliction of the animals in such circumstances is akin to trauma.
There have also been reports of animals kept for too long without food or water or without shelter before being sent to the AVA. This violates guidelines governing the use of animal traps.
If the AVA's stance remains to advocate humane euthanasia as one of the means of animal control, the term should not start and end at how the animals are put down.
The condition of the animals brought into the centre should be examined and patterns of negligence or mistreatment investigated while animals are duly treated and cleaned.
Pest control contractors, as well as pet shop operators and breeders, should go through proper training provided by the AVA. While pest control licences are under the jurisdiction of the NEA, if these contractors are to be engaged to trap animals, they should be held to animal welfare standards.
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