Why Berlin is bringing in tough new rules for pet cats
The Berlin city administration announced new rules for cat owners this week as it attempts to control the capital’s population of stray felines. Here’s what you need to know.
What's happening?
Faced with a population of some 10,000 stray cats, Berlin authorities have decided to bring in new rules that will compel cat owners to castrate their pets if they want them to be able to leave the house in the future.
Berlin’s environmental authority said that, as of June 9th, only cats that have been castrated and chipped will be permitted to leave their owner’s property.
If cats are discovered roaming the streets of Berlin which are still capable of reproduction, city authorities will now have the power to seize the animal and compel the owner to have it castrated.
If authorities can’t identify the owner within five days, the cat will be castrated and the costs will be passed on to the owner once they have come forward.
SEE ALSO: How to adopt a pet in Germany
What do cat owners have to do?
Owners are expected to have had their cat neutered by the time it is five months old, the point at which cats generally become sexually active.
The laws do not amount to a general order for all cat owners to get their pests castrated, though. Those who choose not to have their cats neutered can still take them outside. However they will be required to keep the animal on a lead for the whole time that they are outside their home.
A cat walks near a supermarket in Oldenburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sina Schuldt
Why is this rule being brought in?
Berlin’s authorities said on Thursday that the purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the "significant pain, suffering, or damage caused to free-roaming cats by, among other things, diseases that spread easily through the population".
The castration of house cats is aimed at “interrupting the reproductive chain among free-roaming cats,” Berlin’s authorities stated.
Several German states including Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia already have similar rules.
It's not the first time that cats in Germany have come under the heavy hand of the law recently.
In the district of Walldorf-Süd in Baden-Württemberg, domestic cats were recently sent into a summer lockdown by authorities over fears that they could wipe out the city’s threatened population of crested larks.
There are only a handful of breeding pairs of the endangered bird in the region and authorities hope that the severe measure will ensure that they do not fall prey to prowling felines.
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What's happening?
Faced with a population of some 10,000 stray cats, Berlin authorities have decided to bring in new rules that will compel cat owners to castrate their pets if they want them to be able to leave the house in the future.
Berlin’s environmental authority said that, as of June 9th, only cats that have been castrated and chipped will be permitted to leave their owner’s property.
If cats are discovered roaming the streets of Berlin which are still capable of reproduction, city authorities will now have the power to seize the animal and compel the owner to have it castrated.
If authorities can’t identify the owner within five days, the cat will be castrated and the costs will be passed on to the owner once they have come forward.
SEE ALSO: How to adopt a pet in Germany
What do cat owners have to do?
Owners are expected to have had their cat neutered by the time it is five months old, the point at which cats generally become sexually active.
The laws do not amount to a general order for all cat owners to get their pests castrated, though. Those who choose not to have their cats neutered can still take them outside. However they will be required to keep the animal on a lead for the whole time that they are outside their home.
Why is this rule being brought in?
Berlin’s authorities said on Thursday that the purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the "significant pain, suffering, or damage caused to free-roaming cats by, among other things, diseases that spread easily through the population".
The castration of house cats is aimed at “interrupting the reproductive chain among free-roaming cats,” Berlin’s authorities stated.
Several German states including Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia already have similar rules.
It's not the first time that cats in Germany have come under the heavy hand of the law recently.
In the district of Walldorf-Süd in Baden-Württemberg, domestic cats were recently sent into a summer lockdown by authorities over fears that they could wipe out the city’s threatened population of crested larks.
There are only a handful of breeding pairs of the endangered bird in the region and authorities hope that the severe measure will ensure that they do not fall prey to prowling felines.
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