Poverty major factor in number of stray animals, senators told

from The Chronicle Herald

CORNWALL, P.E.I. (CP) — Poverty is leading to a population explosion in stray animals, especially cats, a Senate committee was told Tuesday.

The Senate committee on agriculture and forestry is travelling across the country examining the issue of poverty in rural communities.

Els Cawthorn of the P.E.I. Humane Society told the committee that people aren’t the only ones suffering from poverty.

A lack of money to spay and neuter pets has resulted in huge populations of stray cats and dogs in rural Prince Edward Island.

Cawthorn warned that could have a devastating impact on cat populations and people.

"We’re lucky we don’t have rabies in Prince Edward Island," she said. "There have only been four isolated cases in cats in recent years.

"But if we had an outbreak, given the population numbers we have now ... we would be in trouble."

A group calling itself the Cat Action Team has already spayed more than 3,000 stray cats in rural P.E.I., but there are another 600 on the waiting list.

The solution, suggested Cawthorn, may be government assistance or funding for non-profit organizations to carry out the work.

"The only way to control the population is to prevent animals from having puppies and kittens," she said.

"If you have a barn with 15 to 20 cats, there’s no way that you can afford to get them spayed even if you are rich."

It costs $100 to $120 per kitten to have them spayed.