In Belgium it has been legally mandatory to sterilize cats since April 1st, 2018. The government introduced this measure to reduce the number of stray cats and cats living in animal shelters. We asked our Facebook followers what they think about this: should this law also be introduced in the Netherlands?
We received 59 reactions and 145 likes on our post and everyone seems to agree this would be a good idea. Some people, such as Liesbeth Laros, simply answered “yes”. Jose Penders and Els Karsdorp agreed by replying “Absolutely!”. “No doubt about it!” confirmed Michelle Koerts and Ineke Peters-Hendriks.
Sad
A lot of people agree with this law in the interest of animal welfare. One of our followers, John Jolanda, agrees because he believes it is sad that so many cats have several litters every year. Ineke Lucas shares the same point of view: “This would be better for the animals and the animal shelters are overcrowded as it is!” According to Anja Verloop the cats currently living in animal shelters will have a better chance of getting adopted once mandatory sterilization is effective. Annemiek Diks-van Der Pool confirms this: “Everyone who wants a new kitten, should adopt one from a shelter!”
Other countries
Desiree Kliebisch even believes this law should also be introduced in other countries, for example in Spain. Kathleen Tolliers agrees with this: “It should go into effect everywhere!”
Setting a good example
Kim Van Huisstede has chosen to set an example. She believes all cat owners should sterilize their pets. “We were too late to sterilize our cat: she was in heat when we were gone for the weekend and ended up getting pregnant with three kittens. Because we had been too late to sterilize her, we took our responsibility and kept all three kittens and had them fixed.”
Breeding
Lianne Doms thinks it makes perfect sense that a permit is required for the breeding of cats. “All of my cats have been fixed, males and females alike. This should be obligatory, unless you want to breed, in which case a permit is needed. However, prices should be decreased!”
Dogs
Helga Daalmans wants to take this one step further: she suggests all dogs should be sterilized as well.
Disagreement
There is one person who disagrees with our statement. Lieke Fraikin admits that she does not believe in making this rule mandatory. She does believe cat owners should be given the right information, so they can decide to sterilize their cat or put it on the cat pill.