Monday, February 8, 2010 18:49 WIB
by Crystall Clancy
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Wild and stray cats are ubiquitous in Indonesia`s capital of Jakarta, a sprawling metropolis inhabited by 12 million people.
And though most of the felines in the urban jungle show obvious signs of suffering by lack of food, illness and neglect, they are multiplying at a rate that may eventually pose a public health hazard.
The issue is not only the increase in number of this stray species, but also the inhumane solutions municipalities utilize in an attempt to control the car population in their areas, said Karin Franken, co-founder of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), over the week-end at JAAN`s clinic in Kemang, South Jakarta.
Disease is rife among them, with recent studies uncovering the avian flu (H5N1) virus residing in a large percentage of these cats. The problem has spread from a national animal welfare issue to a global health risk. A humane, tried, tested and proven solution to this issue must be embraced and enforced at both a local and national level.
The population of stray cats in Jakarta is vast. JAAN, a non-government animal welfare organization wants to help reduce the street cat population by conducting sterilization activities, thus minimizing the number of cats added to an already overwhelming population.
"We have to control the stray cat population if we want to improve their welfare," Karin Franken, said.
Since mid October 2008, JAAN has worked with volunteer veterinarians to provide free spaying and neutering services for homeless cats, it has taken sterilization action for stray cats in various locations around Jakarta and also on Pramuka Island (capital of the One Thousand Islands district).
The system, adopted in many regions internationally, is the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) which is a full management plan where stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and tame cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat, she said.
Small-scale sterilization drives performed by JAAN are incredibly low budget and performed in a minimum of conditions. But Karin says they are committed to continue the spaying and neutering program on a monthly basis. This involves working with volunteer veterinarians and vet assistants to provide capture, spaying and neutering, rehabilitation and release services for homeless cats.
"Vets from abroad have donated their time and money which has been very helpful", said Karin.
JAAN continually attempts to work with government so that this humane process can be embraced in each area. There have been small changes at a government level, with some state facilitated sterilization drives operating; Karin says this shows "Some good will from the government side". Other non government organizations are also involved with these sterilization drives and there has been `increased community involvement, said Karin adding that she also highlighted public participation as one of the most important factors in the effort to improve street animals` welfare.
According to the Directorate General for Animal Husbandry in Jakarta, responsibility for controlling these stray populations lies with specific district municipalities. Ibu Titik, a spokesperson for the directorate says the central government provides no funds for controlling the problem, even for the euthanisation of diseased cats.
Jakarta`s main post for animal husbandry is in Ragunan, where the central government pound is located. Apparently some municipalities are bringing unwanted stray cats from their area to Jalan Harsono in South Jakarta, to the Ragunan Dinas Peternakan building, where they will be inhumanely terminated.
It is alleged, at present, cats are captured and relocated to the cages there prior to termination, where they kill each other, are poisoned or even starve to death. When organizations or government are convinced that euthanization is the only way, JAAN insists it must be done in a humane manner. One area cited by JAAN as being responsible for this cruelty is the Ancol Recreation Area management.
JAAN has offered Ancol cooperation in order to strive for a humane solution option but they still choose to just continue with the mass culling of stray cats. The Ancol management declined to comment on the allegations.
It isn`t just the Ancol management but many other institutions in Jakarta fail to overcome the cat population problem in a humane way. Besides causing unnecessary suffering to the animals, the mass culling doesn`t provide a solution to the vast number of stray cats in the Indonesian capital. "This mass culling will not reduce the stray cat population as other cats will eventually take over the territories of the cats that have been `removed", said Karin.
"The cat situation is still very bad", she said, "We try to continuously sterilize the street cats to help mitigate the problem."
"Our experience has shown that the large-scale culling of stray animals doesn`t work in the long-term and that the methods used can be very cruel. Effective long-term management can only be achieved through working with the local communities to encourage responsible ownership. At JAAN we are really driven to educate", said Karin.
Through education about responsible pet ownership, identification, vaccination, neutering and pet care, fewer animals will end up on the street.
JAAN recently completed a pilot project in the vicinity of the One Thousand Islands to measure the results of their sterilization drives. Karin said upon return `the change was obvious`.
A fertile female cat with an average lifespan of 7 years could give birth to at least 28 kittens. "Changes are not dramatic but eventually things will change", she said adding that the survival rate of these cats was quite high. Given all the litter that Jakarta residents often leave on the streets, especially in residential areas, reducing the number of stray cats could take decades. However, the effort was made in Holland and it was successful.
If the Indonesian government were to embrace the TNR method, the issue could be solved in a more timely manner. It should consider the wide repercussions of the problem, including the spread of disease that affects business, livestock and the health of its citizens.
Recent studies have revealed that cats can contract the avian influenza virus and that there is no evidence that only migratory birds are responsible for the spread of the disease. A study conducted by the Indonesian Environment Information Center (PILI) in Yogyakarta found that stray cats had caught the H5N1 virus through contact with infected poultry at traditional markets. Scientists are worried the virus will mutate into a form where it could spread through human-to-human contact, which could trigger a global pandemic capable of infecting millions of people in a short period of time.
Avian Flu represents a potential global threat and is a matter of high priority for member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Indonesian Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) announced its support, in principle, for the development of a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at its Annual General Meeting on 14th August 2009, demonstrating its strong commitment to animal welfare.
The Centre for Indonesian Veterinary Analytical Studies (CIVAS) has embraced, and begun participating, in the cat sterilization program held by JAAN which is a positive sign for future cooperation. "With this program in hand, we hope in the future we will see no more abandoned cats on Jakarta`s streets", said Karin.
Elimination of stray animal populations is neither realistic nor essential for animal welfare on a global scale. Rather, the goal is for all countries to use methods of population management such as JAAN`s TNR method that minimizes unwanted and stray animal populations and the welfare problems they experience.
What is needed in Indonesia is stronger commitment and understanding that animal welfare has a strong link to human welfare and development issues; in particular human health, poverty and disaster.(*)
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