Macao’s official cat cull rate has gone up by 33 percent since this time last year, Hoje Macau reports. One-hundred-and-five stray or abandoned cats were euthanised during the first six months of 2023, according to data from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM). That’s compared to 79 in 2022.
This number is higher than any comparable period since 2007, when 19 additional cats were euthanised.
A local animal rights group has accused the government of abandoning its animal sterilisation policy. Fátima Galvão, head of the Association for Street Dogs and Animal Welfare in Macau (MASDAW), told TDM TV that a lack of sterilisations is why the cull rate is rising.
Galvão said it was “criminal” to allow stray animals to breed unchecked.
[See more: A local dog rescue organisation is appealing for funds to keep going]
IAM is responsible for rounding up stray cats and dogs in Macao. If no one is willing to adopt them, the animals are euthanised.
By the end of June, 253 cats had been captured. Five were microchipped, so could be returned to their registered owners. IAM was able to rehome 121 of those that were left.
In the same period, 209 dogs were captured, slightly less than last year. Nine were microchipped, 94 found new homes, and 88 were euthanised. Macao’s record year for dog culls was 2010, when 718 stray dogs were euthanised – a monthly average of almost 60.
According to IAM numbers, adoption rates for both cats and dogs are falling in Macao.
