CWSI Opposes Mass Cat-Poisoning

by ANC Staff

The Cat Welfare Society of Israel is calling on cat lovers everywhere to support them in their legal battle to halt a massive cat-poisoning campaign in Israel.

After finding rabid foxes in the Sharon area of Israel, authorities began using the deadly substance 'Tardemon' on a massive scale to kill street cats. The authorities claim cats may have been exposed to the infected foxes and may therefore pose a danger to people living in the area.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's own statistics, however, out of 69 Rabies cases in 2003 only one cat was found to be infected, as compared with 45 foxes, 15 dogs and several other infected wild animals and farm animals.

But cats are the only animals being singled out for poisoning.

Tardemon, which is being dispersed by municipal inspectors, has a sympathetic name - meaning 'slumber' - implying a gentle death.

In reality, Tardemon causes cats, or any other animals who eat it, to die slowly and in extreme pain. The ordeal may last from a few hours up to a few days.

"It is a horrible and inhumane way to die," wrote one Israeli volunteer in a recent CWSI news alert.

According to CWSI, inspectors have also confiscated pet cats at will from private homes where the family could not prove their cat had a current rabies vaccination. Even "indoor only" cats who have never ventured outside have been confiscated, they said.

Rabies vaccination for companion animals in Israel is not yet routine, as it is in other westernized countries, yet arguments from families who say they have never been told to vaccinate their cats have apparently fallen on deaf ears.

The confiscated cats have been taken either to their death, or to an expensive six month stay in quarantine which the animal's guardian may not be able to afford, especially if they have multiple cats.

The prohibitive expense, and the physical and mental trauma caused by confinement for 6 months in a cage, means in many cases that the cat will die anyway.

And yet all of this trauma, said CWSI, is totally avoidable.

"There is a simple measure available to stop the spread of Rabies which is routinely used around the world," the group explained in a recent news release. "Bait containing the Rabies vaccination is scattered over large areas and is then eaten by wild animals (like foxes). This 'oral vaccination' immunizes the animal against the disease."

"In our case, oral vaccination bait should be placed around the borders Israel shares with the Palestinian authority, the source of the Rabies outbreak," CWSI advised.

"There is no reason to single out cats for destruction. The sources of the problem are jackals and foxes and other animals which are more likely to attack if they get sick," CWSI said. "However, those animals are not being destroyed."

"Even if a Rabies-infected fox is discovered very near to cow sheds, those cattle herds are not destroyed - due in large part to the protection of Israel's meat industry," they said.

Since the establishment of Israel, only a handful of people have died from Rabies. No other modern country resorts to the mass poisoning of cats as a way of dealing with Rabies.

"Vaccinating 80 percent of the population of dogs is the best way to prevent Rabies," CWSI insists. "Mass killings of cats are not only terribly cruel, but diminish the efficiency of the real efforts to prevent Rabies."

"Where cats disappear, others fill in the vacuum - from unknown areas," they point out.

CWSI is now fighting a desperate legal battle, along with other animal welfare organizations, to get the mass poisonings halted and to pressure authorities to implement alternative, humane solutions to the lack of Rabies vaccinations.

"The veterinary authorities of Israel, and of the Sharon area in particular, have failed dramatically in handling Rabies; they poison cats with terrible brutality in order to avoid public outcry," CWSI states. "If the same resources were dedicated to making free vaccinations and free neutering available, the problem would be solved."

Hampered in its efforts by lack of funding and lack of expert advice, CWSI says it would welcome information about humane Rabies prevention strategies being used in other countries, and support for its legal battle to get humane measures implemented.

Anyone with relevant information and advice can contact the CWSI attorney at cats_il@netvision.net.il.

Sadly, there is still no public budget available for cat welfare in Israel. Cat lovers there frequently express frustration at the lack of sensitivity to cat suffering displayed by officialdom, and the absence of government-supported spay/neuter/vaccination programs.

But CWSI staff and volunteers don't let municipal and veterinary apathy deter them from their constant efforts to make Israel a humane place for cats to live.

"We believed, and still believe, that with hard work we could bring about change," says CWSI director Rivi Mayer. "Indeed, we have achieved many goals. CWSI was instrumental in changing the legal status of street cats to the point where they are now offered some humane protection, and many local authorities have come to realize the value of TNR efforts."

CWSI's work includes spaying and neutering programs, TNR schemes, public education, a feline welfare advice service, a humane cat sanctuary for 600 cats at Hadera, and numerous legal battles to protect and rescue cats in peril.

The Hadera sanctuary houses 600 homeless cats, most of whom were abused and/or abandoned by their former owners and suffered considerably until they were rescued by CWSI.


The natural surroundings at the sanctuary help the cats to feel happy and calm, with big yards spread among trees, climbing frames, hidey holes, shady spots, sunny spots, areas of grass and earth interspersed with curved walkways.

"Even the fence around the sanctuary is transparent, in order not to interfere with the sense of space, so important to cats," says Mayer.

But preparations at the shelter to ensure that the cats spent a warm, comfortable winter, cost around $5000 (20,000 shekels) - and the money is fast running out.

In order to renew its full range of cat protection activities in addition to its ongoing legal battle on behalf of Israel's cats, CWSI needs 2,000 permanent donors who can commit to regular monthly donations of $15 (60 shekels).

Individuals interested in donating to CWSI to help fund their legal campaign and their many vital cat welfare services can obtain more information by calling (00) 972-3-6969807 or by emailing cats_il@netvision.net.il, or
danagoldberg@israsrv.net.il.

American donors can make tax-deductible contributions. To be tax-deductible, donations should be over $35 U.S. and made through PEF Israel Endowment Funds (www.pefisrael.org) in New York.

Concerned individuals who wish to write to the Israeli veterinary authorities to urge the adoption of humane alternatives to their mass poisoning strategy can find contact details at:
www.moag.gov.il/search/emplSearch.asp?UnitID=63.

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.