News release For immediate release
Monday, October 3, 2016
Terrebonne, October 3rd, 2016 - Following the adoption of the new Animal Control regulation by the City of Montreal on September 27th, 2016, Chats Canada Cats condemns the section of the by-law pertaining to cat breeding.
The regulation in its present form does not take into consideration the thousands of catteries currently operating on its territory and will drive cat breeders into hiding, which is unwanted and undesirable. Cat breeders are denied the opportunity to operate at a professional level and improve the quality of cats in Québec and Canada.
Cats need to be born and raised in a family unit, in a home. Cat breeding is very different from dog breeding; they are sepr species and have a different nature. Quality cat breeding takes place in private homes and in most likely urban environments.
Considering that purebred cats don’t roam freely outside the house (if they do, it’s for a short time, inside dedicated enclosed areas and under supervision), don’t bark and don’t disturb neighbours, asking cat breeders to live far away from big cities or residential areas, on properties with extensive lands or away from other houses, is incongruous. It’s unreasonable for rules and regulations governing dog breeding to be blindly applied to cat breeding.
Result of clandestine breeding:
- Less revenues for municipalities;
- Municipalities with cat related issues will lose the support and expertise of cat breeders (reducing the straight cat population, managing the Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) Program, etc.);
- Municipalities have no knowledge of the activities and positive impacts these microenterprises may have and at the same time have no control over them (cattery inspection, facility compliance, fire hazards, etc.).
Unfortunately, clandestine breeding often muzzles quality breeding.
With the help of Chats Canada Cats, ANIMA-Québec developed a ‘Quality and Care’ Certification Program regulating cat breeding with high standards on the number of animals permitted, breeding conditions and care protocols. Inspections are done by experts in their respective areas. The City of Montreal could have chosen to demand the ANIMA-Québec certification before issuing a breeding permit.
Whereas residential family-run catteries are virtually undetectable, unless breeders voluntarily disclose the information, Chats Canada Cats believes that it will be almost impossible to successfully implement the provisions of the regulation.
The Coderre administration clearly improvised and rushed the adoption of the regulation without consulting experts on cat breeding issues.
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For more information:
Michele Ann Desaulniers Vice-President
madesaulniers@chatscanadacats.ca
450-759-0294
