BRUSSELS – Belgium is set to embark on a radical plan to sterilize most cats in the country by 2016, an official said Wednesday, confirming a report by the Sud Presse newspaper group.
The measure is meant to solve the problem of feline overpopulation. In a country of over 10 million people, there are an estimated 1 million cats, a spokesman for the health ministry told the German news agency dpa.
According to the “Multi Annual Cat Plan,” due to be rolled out in 2011, sterilization will first be carried out on cats held in shelters, then extended to breeding establishments and pet shops.
At a later stage, sterilization will be made mandatory also for domestic cats, which are expected to be identified and placed on a national registry.
However, an official from the animal welfare department in the health ministry, Catherine Terclavers, told the Belgian press agency Belga that the plan has not received final approval because of funding difficulties.
“This is why it is still nothing more a project; we still have to discuss it. For the moment, no funding from the federal government is foreseen,” she said.
She said that pedigree cats will be excluded from the program.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
-
Sports
Sports Digest: No. 1-ranked Ash Barty loses in second round of Adelaide International
-
Sports
NHL roundup: Canadiens fire coach Claude Julien amid losing stretch
-
Nation & World
Coronavirus infection leads to immunity that’s comparable to a COVID-19 vaccine
-
Lakes Region Weekly
New Gloucester library reopens with new staff on board
-
Sports
Lucky to be alive after crash, Tiger Woods faces long and difficult recovery
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have one? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.