– This is about so much more than just a chip in the neck. That’s what veterinarian and manager of Florø Animal Clinic, Hanne Husebø Kristensen, says. So far this year, the clinic has treated 125 homeless cats that have been taken in by the Animal Protection Sogn og Fjordane. They have brought in sick cats with infections and parasites, skinny and starving kittens, and pregnant cat mothers. According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, there are 800,000 cats in Norway, of which 50,000 are homeless. Animal protection’s calculations show that around 80 percent of the kittens born to the homeless cats die after a short time. Day-to-day leader of Animal Protection Norway, Åshild Roaldset, is clear in his speech: – It is completely hair-raising. We would not have allowed this for any other animal species. ID marking must be required by law. Ho, Kristensen and several animal protection organizations now want a law on mandatory ID marking of cats. On 9 January, the Storting receives a representative proposal from the Liberal Party on precisely the statutory ID marking of cats on the table. Put more responsibility on the owner news has previously written about kittens that have been found dumped along motorways, that have been thrown in a garbage bag and homeless kittens that freeze completely in the winter cold. And every summer, cats are found starving outside while their owners are on holiday. Kristensen believes that part of the reason is that the cat has too little status as a pet, compared to, for example, a dog. – You have to pay for everything, you don’t get a loaf of bread for free. But you can get a kitten for nothing. A dog, on the other hand, usually costs between NOK 20 and 30,000, she says. The unique number from the ID tag is registered in a national database. Photo: Sunniva Knutsen / news Animal Protection, the Norwegian Veterinary Association and other animal protection organizations have been calling for an order for ID marking of cats for several years. By requiring all cat owners to ID their cats, they are entered into a database via a chip so that they can be identified. If they wake up, or get hit by a car, you can easily find the owner. But not least, it will help to make the owner responsible, states Roaldset. – If you have to register the animal yourself, it will be a more professional animal husbandry. The data capture also makes it possible to prosecute when there is a violation of animal welfare, she says. These kittens were found in a litter box in October. Photo: Animal protection Norway Liberals: – It is urgent Roaldset gets support from Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik from the Liberals. She is one of the politicians behind the proposal. – ID marking can prevent dumping so that he is attached to the owner, so that they cannot get rid of the cat in an inappropriate way, says Thorsvik. The representative proposal from the Liberal Party aims to ensure good animal welfare, prevent dumping and make arrangements for punishment for poor cat keeping. The proposal was dealt with in the Business Committee in November, as the case may be. The reason was that the majority of politicians will wait to adopt concrete measures until after the new Animal Welfare Report comes in 2024. Thorsvik hopes the majority will change in the Storting. Photo: Per Kåre Sandbakk Both Sweden and Denmark have already adopted statutory ID marking of cats, she points out. Sweden in January 2023 and Denmark in July 2021. – There is no need to wait for the Animal Welfare Report. It is urgent to put solutions in place to prevent us from having more homeless cats in the future, she asserts. She also believes that ID marking will make the work of the police and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority easier, as it will be easier to find the owners if cats are dumped or abandoned. Willfred Nordlund from the Center Party is leader of the industry committee. He says it is common for so-called doc-8 proposals, which are put forward by individual representatives, to be voted down. Especially when there is major work pending in the Storting, such as the Animal Welfare Report. – When the Storting will adopt the Animal Welfare Report next year, it is natural to discuss ID marking of all pets, including cats, he says. Willdfred Nordlund (Sp) believes it is important to see the overall animal welfare picture, and make a decision after the report is ready. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Norwegian Food Safety Authority: – Lack of system After an investigation in 2010, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority decided not to recommend statutory ID marking of cats, but now they have changed their mind. Nina Brogeland Laache, section manager in the section for animal welfare in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, says they are in favor of assessing it, but that the challenge is linked to how to check that this is followed through. – We cannot carry out routine checks with the many thousands of cat owners, nor do we know who to make a decision against if we bring in a cat without an ID tag. We have nevertheless believed that ID marking and castration of cats that are allowed to roam freely outside is necessary to reduce the number of homeless cats and have called for this, she says. Here, veterinarian Kristensen is unsympathetic. – We have several laws that are not checked every single day, such as the use of seat belts and requirements for insurance on the car. It is a responsibility one must take today without being checked every single day.
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Proposes mandatory ID marking – Could be the solution for homeless cats – news Vestland
