Dear Department of the Environment

We are enclosing a petition of ______ signatures calling on the Department of the Environment to take responsibility for the plight of stray and ferals cats in Ireland of which there is a huge number. At present no government department takes responsibility for stray or feral cats and this needs to be rectified immediately in order to deal humanely and effectively with the plight of these once domestic cats.

This petition has been signed by people who care about the plight of stray and feral cats in Ireland. Colonies of feral cats can be found right throughout Ireland in cities, towns and countryside, at factories, industrial estates, hospitals, hotels, universities, housing estates and farms.

It is estimated there are one million feral cats in Dublin City alone and approximately another million nationwide, the vast majority of whom are unspayed and unneutered and consequently breeding uncontrollably. The issue of feral cats in this country has reached crisis point.

Uncontrolled breeding is the major issue with feral cats. Most businesses and farms are happy to have feral cats around to keep the rodent population under control, however it is when the number of cats spiral out of control that problems arise. Various (usually cruel) methods are then employed to "get rid of the problem". Methods include starvation, poisoning, shooting, drowning and euthanasia.

Interbreeding causes further problems such as deformities in kittens, low immunity to disease, prolonged suffering and premature deaths.

We believe that killing the problem, not the cats, is the answer. In other countries such as the UK, USA, Italy, Greece and Germany, a programme of Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) has been effectively implemented to control and contain colonies of feral cats humanely. This involves trapping the cats, taking them to the Vet to be spayed or neutered and given an overall health check, then returned back to their original area after locating volunteers to provide food and shelter. Some rescue centres and private individuals in Ireland have already begun TNR programmes in their own areas but the number of cats needing help far exceeds what rescue centres and individuals can do.

Consequently we are asking for your assistance with this as we feel the Department of the Environment should take some responsibility for the implementation of such a huge task, as the Department already assumes responsibility for stray/lost dogs and dog pounds etc. Feral cats are former domestic pets who become homeless from being lost or abandoned or left behind when owners move away or die. Because of neglect, such cats have to adopt a feral lifestyle. As previously stated, there are already small groups of people throughout Ireland doing what they can in their own areas, but it is a drop in the ocean as kittens are being born daily and the uncontrolled breeding continues. We look forward with interest to hearing from you in the near future with regard to the above important issue.

Yours Sincerely,

National Stray & Feral Cat Friends