Spay/neuter campaign
records good response
PHILIPSBURG--Spaying and neutering cats and dogs are the responsibility of pet owners. This was the message Animal Welfare Foundation highlighted in April with the observance of International Spay/Neuter Month.
The direct-to-the-public campaign brought together volunteers and teenagers who signed on to earn school community service hours. The volunteers spent every Saturday of April in Le Grand Marché supermarket parking lot and spoke to shoppers about the importance of pet sterilisation. Puppies and kittens for adoption were also on display.
The group was counselled by Veterinarian Terri DeWitt to share necessary and important information with the public about the impact a large stray animal population could have on the island.
Animal Welfare Public Relations Director Heather Caputo said, “Many people do not realise that cats and dogs can have several litters a year with an average of six kittens or puppies a year.”
Then those puppies and kittens can have litters as early as six or seven months later. “The potential explosion in the stray population becomes truly a problem,” she said.
As part of the campaign, the foundation gave out free sterilisation certificates to cat and dog owners to help control the pet population humanely.
Owners were reminded by volunteers about the threat stray animals are to the health of pets, the noise strays create, danger to traffic and the island’s image as a tourist destination.
“Beyond the humane concerns, there is a very real level of love for St. Maarten and citizenship involved. Our campaign has been asking people to think before allowing their pets to breed,” Caputo said.
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