Cat Welfare

November 19 2010

In addition to campaigning our leaders for compulsory desexing of companion animals, the RSPCA’s focus on cat welfare took a different approach recently. On Thursday 11 November, Friday 12 November and Saturday 13 November, RSPCA Victoria ran an innovative adult cat adoption campaign with outstanding success. A first for animal welfare shelters in Australia, RSPCA Victoria waived adoption fees for adult cats in a bid to raise the value of feline companions within the community and to give as many cats as possible the happy ending that they deserve.

121 adult cats found their forever home during the campaign with our positive cat welfare messages reaching millions.

Coalition Opposition announces significant investment in jumps racing

The Coalition announced that it will invest in the continuation of jumps racing should it be elected to government.

The proposal would see an additional $2 million dollars invested into the industry over four years, to boost prize money for jumps racing and attract more competitors.

The proposal also includes cash incentives to attract horses from other countries to enter jumps competitions and a commitment to have key performance indicators eased.

The RSPCA believes encouraging more horses to enter jumps competitions is a disastrous idea, which will ultimately lead to more horrific injuries and unnecessary deaths. To have KPI’s eased will see additional carnage on the race track also.

Labor announces animal welfare policy

The Labor Government recently formalised an animal welfare policy should the party hold power after the upcoming election.

Labor’s 2010 Election Animal Welfare Policy outlines improvements to existing laws, particularly those that govern the regulation and enforcement of companion animals, pet shops and puppy factories.

Puppy factories

Closepuppyfacotires.org now has over 48,000 pledges of support and with the campaign continuing to gain momentum, the Labor Government has announced they will increase the fines associated with breaches to the Code of Practice that govern these establishments. If re-elected, the Labor Government has also formalised a policy that will see Codes of Practice for Breeding Establishments be reviewed, and for the RSPCA to receive additional authority to uphold breaches to the Code.

The Puppy Factory Awareness Day Rally held on 19 September, also attracted the interest of the opposition party with similar public statements to raise fines. 

Free microchipping

As part of the RSPCA’s focus to improve the reclaim rates for cats, a free microchipping campaign was launched at RSPCA Shelters across Victoria. In just one month we have microchipped an impressive 771 cats. With plans to roll out this initiative to other locations across the state, we anticipate many more of our purring pals will be able to be reunited with their families, if they become lost.

Discounted desexing

As it comes into kitten season we are preparing our shelters for the influx of hundreds if not thousands of these beautiful creatures into our catteries.  To help combat the issue the RSPCA initiated a discounted desexing scheme at our Burwood East and Peninsula vet clinics.  Significant savings to cat owners saw 354 cats being desexed during September.  This is a positive step towards reducing the number of unwanted cats across the state. We also plan to deliver this scheme to other Victorian regional centers over the year ahead.