Cats and Kittens being rescued

Volunteers Rescuing Cats from Cull in Singapore
by The Associated Press

Posted on May 28, 2003
Cat lovers are rescuing stray felines from Singapore's streets and sending them to an animal shelter in Malaysia to save them from being killed in a government cleanliness campaign aimed at fighting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an animal rights activist said on Tuesday.

There are an estimated 80,000 stray cats in Singapore, but the cleanliness campaign targets only those caught near markets and other places that serve food.

The culling is part of an overall hygiene campaign launched on May 6th in response to the SARS outbreak, officials say.

Cathy Strong, president of the Animal Lovers League, said over 2,000 stray cats have been gathered so far and that they would be sent to Noah's Ark animal shelter in Johor, Malaysia.

"We are trying to save as many as we can," she said. "Volunteers are taking turns, they are about to collapse from rounding up the strays."

This area in general is a horrible place for a feral or stray cat to be. They are considered nothing more than vermin, rats that come out. It is actually illegal to feed them, you will be ticketed if caught. Obviously, there are no TNR programs so they breed prolifically to a harsh, harsh life. The way to manage the cats is to kill as many as possible, sometimes in really horrible ways even sanctioned by the State. Poison, gas, guns are not uncommon methods of ridding the streets of cats.

I read quite a few stories of Singapore cats who had been rescued and shipped to the US basically to save their lives. It is just a tragic situation with a few wonderful people trying to give all they can help a chance for a better life - for any life. It is doubly difficult because these cats are treated so badly by the general public (I read of a mother encouraging her young child to kick a cat away when it came up looking for food or perhaps a pet or two).

Heidi, There is a petition which hissy posted earlier in this forum, in case you didn't see it yet.

I'm sure I've signed it, most likely many times. I was just so shocked when I heard of the peril these cats live in every day......The stories I read over a year ago are still very fresh in my mind.

It was posted on 6/2/03, in case anyone missed it.


http://www.petitiononline.com/cwsasdhr/petition.htm

Singapore campaign to increase the cleanliness level