When a
person takes it upon himself to look after a cat or dog the responsibility
includes ensuring that their pet does not stray from their home. This is
probably obvious but it needs to be stated because it tells us that the reason
for the existence of stray animals is the failure of some people to look after
their pet properly.
The problem
of stray cats and dogs is our problem. If we wish to resolve the problem we
need to look at ourselves critically and decide how we can improve the standard
of cat and dog caretaking to ensure that they are looked after to a high
standard within the family home.
Source:
On the
basis that it is impossible to ensure that every cat and dog owner acts in a
responsible manner, there will always be some stray animals. How do we deal
with them? “Humanely” is the only way that we can deal with these animals. By
“humanely” I mean decently and in a kindly manner and in a way whereby the cat
or dog suffers the very least distress and pain.
If the
owner is unknown then it may be possible to rehome a stray animal through the
services of a rescue/shelter organisation. Stray cats and dogs therefore can be
taken to a shelter for rehoming or they can be rehomed directly by the person
who finds the animal. Indeed, some people take responsibility for the care and
well-being of stray cats and dogs that they find. Although, this can lead to
problems such as cat hoarding.
Source:
The trouble
with shelters and rescue centres is that they are often overpopulated with
unwanted cats and dogs. Therefore they have to euthanise them; although the
better phrase is “kill them” because the word “euthanising” refers to the
killing of an animal because he or she is terminally sick or fatally injured.
Often the animals are perfectly healthy.
Because it
is not always possible to find a new home for a stray animal it is vitally
important that the standard of care of cats and dogs within the family home is
raised across the country to ensure that there are less unwanted stray animals.
In general
terms, here in Chile, doesn't exist any preocupation about the welfare of stray
animals. There aren't genuine attempts to help them. In other parts of the world such as Asia, stray animals are often
persecuted in a rather brutal way. A good example was the mass slaughter of
stray animals in Beijing, China before the 2008 Olympics in order to clean up
the streets so that visitors to the capital went home with the best possible
impression about life in China.
Source:
People are
often frightened of stray animals because they think that they carry diseases
which may affect their health. Stray animals give the impression that they are
ill because there are often very dirty and unkempt. This is because they are
uncared for by a person. We should not forget that these were domestic animals.
This fear of the stray animal encourages its persecution. Cruelty towards stray
animals is quite common. The people who are cruel towards stray animals are
uneducated and fail to realise that it is only because of the failure of people
to discharge their responsibilities in the care of domestic animals that stray
animals exist.
