Attorney general sets the ball rolling on cat neutering

Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Wednesday instructed Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel to release an annual budget allocated for reducing the proliferation of stray animals by sterilization. The minister had indicated that he would divert the money to research instead because the neutering process offended his religious conscience.

According to a report from the Hebrew-language Haaretz website, Weinstein rejected Ariel’s alternative plans for the NIS 4.5 million ($1.15m) annual allocation.

Ariel, from the Jewish Home party, is a religiously observant Jew. Neutering animals is forbidden under Jewish law.

The issue of stray animals falls under the auspices of both the Environmental Protection and Agriculture ministries. In recent years the latter has undertaken a mass program of sterilization in an effort to stem the growth of the street cat population. To date, over 100,000 cats have been neutered or sterilized by local councils.

Last week the ministry published a call for proposals that cited reasons for not continuing the sterilizations, such as the high expense of neutering, which requires medial equipment and anesthetics; the fact that the procedure must be carried out by a qualified veterinarian; and the risk of complications.

However, the document also noted that “this procedure is against the religious and ideological beliefs of various sectors in Israel.”

Two weeks ago, Ariel caused an uproar when he wrote to Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabi asking that the annual budget allocated to deal with stray animals be used to “transfer dogs and cats of a single gender (all the males or females) to a foreign country that is willing to accept them.”

The Israeli animal welfare group “Let Animals Live” petitioned the High Court against Ariel’s decision.

“With all empathy to the freedom of religion and conscience of Minister Uri Ariel, the law in Israel doesn’t recognize the right for a minister to refuse the orders of the law because of reasons of religion and conscience,” the group wrote.

According to legislation laid down in 2008, the state must budget cash for sterilization of street cats every year. Under the terms of the law, the agriculture minister is charged with determining provisions for ways in which the state can prevent an increase in the population of stray animals.

Local authorities can apply for funding to help cover the cost of the procedures, although they must match the government input.

After the recent notification from the ministry listing objections to the procedure, local authorities were told that if they go ahead with sterilization of their own accord, they would likely retroactively get state support, the report said.

Ariel has in the past received praise from animal rights groups for a number of projects he initiated, including a recent effort against reported animal cruelty during the slaughtering process. But activists have hit back at his opposition to sterilization, saying it is the best way to prevent uncontrolled population growth.

There is no clear data on the size of Israel’s feral cat population but Meow Mission, a leading NGO dealing with stray cats, puts estimates at around 2 million.

Local folklore has it that the British are to blame for Israel’s stray cat population, having brought cats in during the period of the Mandate in order to get rid of rats.

Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.