Most industrial sites are quiet and easily accessible by car. It is for this reason that industrial areas are prime sites for surreptitious dumping. Although it is illegal under the current Animal Welfare Act 2002 to abandon or dump cats/kittens a significant number are left to fend for themselves in industrial sites.
In one season, 100 cats/kittens will form a colony that may double in numbers the following year. It only takes one pregnant female or a litter of kittens to stimulate the mating drive of an unsterilised male and he will gravitate from site to site on order to mate.
Many of these cats are not suitable to a domestic situation because of the lack of handling when the kittens were young.
We do not believe the solution sits with local council or pest controllers both of which would use mass killing as their option, leaving the site clear for further unsupervised cats to be dumped and breed.
CSS firmly believes positive welfare can be successfully achieved if the business; with a safe site and feeding regime co-operates with animal welfare groups to trap, sterilise and return the cats which do not suit a domestic situation. (This method is commonly known as (TNR)
This method forms a stable colony which allows the feeder to monitor for ill health/injury, and identify a new cat – all which can be dealt with humanely and appropriately.
Having a fed, sterilised stable colony prevents a site vacuum in which an unsterilised cat could begin breeding.
Approximately 6 years ago the staff at a well known retail nursery were feeding several abandoned unsterilised cats found on their premises. Each year the staff gave away kittens but they couldn’t find enough homes and eventually there were 30 unsterilised cats on the site.
A Cat Sterilisation Society member along with staff caught the cats at night, sterilised and returned them to the site. Those sterilised included 8 already pregnant females.
After weeks of work, no unsterilised cats/kittens remained. Over the years natural attrition due to old age has reduced the colony to a small manageable number. This is a positive benefit to the new management should the business be sold.
This successful model has been repeated at a business site in both Gosnells and Maddington.