02/16/18 A Proposal on Mandatory Sterilization of Dogs and Cats Presented to the European Parliament
Animal Friends Croatia support the initiative by the Croatian members in the EU Parliament
- There are about 100 million stray dogs and twice as many cats living in the European Union!
At the end of January 2018, the Croatian MEP, Ivan Jakovcic, presented a proposal for a European Parliament resolution on mandatory sterilization of dogs and cats. In the clarification of the proposal, Jakovcic points out that the European shelters are full of unwanted animals and that, according to estimates, there are about 100 million stray dogs and twice as many cats living in the member states! He states that the onetime cost of spaying or neutering is considerably lower than the cost of capturing, feeding and sheltering abandoned animals, and euthanizing those that cannot be adopted. It so calls upon member states to adopt sterilization (spaying, neutering or other methods) as necessary to control the number of unwanted dogs and cats and to promote responsible care for companion animals. It calls upon regional and local authorities to make spaying or neutering mandatory for dogs and cats unless the guardian has a breeding license.
These days, his colleague MEP, Davor Skrlec, also supported the proposal as a continuation of a panel discussion held at the end of January in the European Parliament and the signing of the declaration on stray dogs in the EU. Representative Skrlec, in cooperation with the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals of the European Parliament and the international umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals (whose members are also Animal Friends Croatia), organized the premiere screening of the shocking documentary "A Dog's Life—stray dogs of Sarajevo" in the Parliament in Brussels. The biggest cause of the abandoned dogs’ the terrible fate is a prejudice against spaying/neutering, which is why it is not being carried out, and which makes education a necessity.
Animal Friends Croatia association is joining in the support for this proposal and believes that spaying/neutering is necessary, justified and useful. After new Animal Protection Act entered into force in Croatia and raising awareness on the problem of abandoned animals, along with complete control of the microchipping of dogs, spaying/neutering is shown as the only effective and humane method of reducing many and unwanted population of dogs and cats to protect the animals, humans, and the local community.
Dogs and cats are no longer wild animals that can find food and get around on their own without human intervention. This is also linked to the impossibility of their undisturbed reproduction in a way that would make them self-contained in nature and there is a need for human help, otherwise they are exposed to suffering and death. Spaying/neutering, even though it interferes with the reproductive system of animals, is a more ethical solution than the unacceptable killing of animals or abandoning them to a death of hunger, thirst, being hit by a car or spending their entire lives waiting in shelter cages. In addition, spaying/neutering has numerous health benefits for animals and makes their already unnatural life with a man a lot easier.
