By IANS,
Beijing : Over 30,000 stray cats have been sterilised in Beijing, after the rapidly increasing feline population started threatening survival of birds and smaller animals like squirrels.
The government-backed Trap Neuter Return (TNR) project, which was launched in July 2006, has been implemented in more than 100 animal hospitals and clinics, and conducts more than 1,000 free sterilisations every month, Wei Haitao, veterinary chief of Beijing’s agriculture bureau, was quoted as saying by Xinhua Saturday.
An NGO named New Beautiful World (NBW) has helped sterilise 1,700 cats in 2009.
The number of stray cats has been increasing rapidly in Beijing even as more domestic cats are being abandoned by families which relocate to other places, Wei said.
The wandering cats are threatening lives of squirrels, birds and smaller animals, he said, adding the project has also helped contain the spread of animal diseases.