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Cat bylaw out of touch with reality

April 16, 2008 14:04

To the editor: The following letter was submitted to Mayor Ted Knight and council on the subject of a proposed cat bylaw: Here are the problems related to the proposed cat bylaw: Only 109 of 3000 questionnaires sent out were returned to the town. That represents a 3 per cent return rate. Of Parry Sound’s total population, that’s 1.4 per cent. It’s hardly a mandate to proceed in such a direction. The bylaw imposes a tax without providing a comprehensive service. For example, the City of Boston’s Animal Control (which does not require the licensing of cats, by the way) provides the following services in addition to stray pick-ups: Animal shelter and adoption centre; emergency response for injured, sick or vicious animals; animal bite quarantines; rabies clinics and control; pet behaviour and advice; and animal cruelty and neglect investigation. The Boston model is obviously grounded in a philosophy of care and protection for animals; Parry Sound’s is grounded in a philosophy of getting as much from as many as possible. It is the very independence of cats (deplored by 1.4 per cent of Parry Sound) that makes them perfect pets for the elderly. While being self-contained, they provide affection and protection for those who live alone. As Audrey Tournay pointed out in her April 30 article in the Beacon Star, cats protect us all from viruses transmitted by vermin. The Great Plague was exacerbated by a fear of cats which arose during the Inquisition’s hysterical fear of witchcraft. (Perhaps you should read Dick Whittington’s Cat). Have any of you ever tried to catch a cat? There will be more failures than successes in these attempts, I guarantee. Cats are always welcome on my property; in fact, I encourage them with patches of catnip and enjoy their visits. Bylaw officers, however, are not. Mark Twain had it right when he wrote: “Of all God’s creatures, there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” Shirley Davy Parry Sound

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