Mumbai: In a critical move to help curb animal-homelessness crisis, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has performed sterilisation surgery on 102 community cats in Bandra West.
They did it through its programme in collaboration with The Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals. The cats also received vaccinations, treatment for injuries, and proof-of-sterilisation ear tags before being released back into their territories.
"Since one female cat can produce 12 kittens each year, sterilising 102 cats will keep scores of animals from being born into difficult and dangerous lives on the streets," says PETA CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate. "And PETA isn't stopping there, as we're committed to expanding this much-needed service to cats around the city."
In Mumbai and across India, stray animals struggle to survive. Many of them go hungry, are deliberately injured or killed, are hit by vehicles, or are abused in other ways. Countless others end up in animal shelters because there aren't enough good homes for them.
Every time someone buys a dog or a cat from a breeder or a pet shop, a homeless animal roaming the streets or waiting in a shelter loses a chance at finding a home.
The solution is as easy as ABC: animal birth control. Sterilising one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years, and sterilising one female cat can prevent 420,000 births in seven years. Sterilised animals also live longer, healthier lives and, in the case of males, are less likely to roam, fight, or bite.
