All for Cats!
Yes, that’s
what we are and what drives us. And if you are reading this, then it probably
applies to you too.
You may be
aware that microchipping will be compulsory in England from 10th
June 2024 and although it is on the agenda and in the Animal Welfare Plan for
Wales no date has been given for microchipping to be enforced in Wales.
To push the issue up the agenda, Daryl Gordon the Cats Protection Advocacy and Government Relations Officer for Wales arranged an event at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay to bring the matter to the attention of parliamentarians. He was joined by Madison Rogers, Cats Protection Head of Advocacy, Campaigns & Government Relations and members of her staff from Head Office, Jenna Butcher, Deputy Manager, Bridgend Adoption Centre (BAC) and me, Theresa Cooper, Volunteer at BAC. We were fortunate to be sponsored by Huw Irranca-Davies, our local MS.
 |
| Theresa and Jenna at the Senedd |
The drop-in reception event was to raise awareness of the importance of
microchipping pet cats, to answer questions on microchipping and to encourage
the Welsh Government to pass legislation which makes microchipping pet cats
compulsory. MSs came and went throughout the event and in conversations with
them we were able to ask if they had a cat, point out case studies of cats
being reunited with their owners and using a fluffy toy cat and scanner,
demonstrate how scanners work. They were offered a pledge board to have their
picture taken with and we didn’t have any refusals.
KEY
STATS ON MICROCHIPPING
According
to the Cats Protection CATS 2023 report:
·
71%
of owned cats in Wales are microchipped.
·
25%
of owned cats in Wales are NOT microchipped.
·
4%
of owners are unsure.
This means there are potentially 180,000 owned cats in Wales that are not microchipped!Hence the need to highlight to Welsh Government that they need to pass this legislation asap.
We
were also joined by representatives from Dogs Trust, RSPCA, Blue Cross and
Battersea Dogs and Cats Homes, so they could see the type of advocacy work
carried out by Cats Protection. And to thank and encourage parliamentarians for
their interest, there were some goodies (Cats Protection branded!) to take away
and tasty treats of Welsh cakes and slices of bara brith.
Most
of those I chatted to did have cats in the family or had experience of owning a
pet. There was a great deal of interest shown, appreciation for all the work
carried out by Cats Protection and a general willingness to move forward with
the Animal Welfare Plan as early as possible.
As a volunteer I was thanked numerous times for my commitment and (a first for me) took part in a live video blog on Huw Irranca-Davies’s Twitter (or X) page. It does reflect the attitude of the MSs we met in that 26 attended, almost half the total number of Senedd members - a new record for a Cats Protection event!
Hopefully, we
did raise awareness of welfare matters, and that it’s a human issue too. As we
know, it can be devastating to lose a pet and not know what has happened to
them or where they are.
Theresa
Cooper, Volunteer
Bridgend Adoption Centre
