When humans fail, pets suffer

Afew months ago, a Tokyo community was embroiled in a heated debate over stray cats roaming the neighborhood. Cat haters accused cat lovers of feeding the animals, thereby increasing problems of excrement, stench and noises.

The feeders insisted they were simply helping the poor, abandoned creatures.

But hatred remained.

Sanae Iizuka managed to lead the two sides to practical discussions and solved the problem by introducing the Community Cat Project, a sterilization program the Tokyo metropolitan government started in April to deal with the increasing complaints about stray cats in the capital.

Before the community agreed to implement the project, Iizuka found that the quarrel stemmed from grudges over previous arguments on boundaries and other topics that had nothing to do with cats.

Experiences like this have taught her that good communication among humans is the key to solving issues of stray animals.

``But we've lost conversations,'' Iizuka says. ``People often don't know who feeds stray cats even when the person lives right in front of them.''

In the end, the animals are the ones that suffer from people's inability to communicate or the failure to teach younger generations about the dangers of neglect, she says.

According to government statistics, 660,000 cats and dogs were brought to public hygiene centers and animal control centers across the country in 1998. Among them, about 630,000 were put to sleep or taken away for animal testing. The remainder-less than 5 percent-were returned home or found new owners.

Many private shelters take in abandoned pets, but most are small-scale facilities that financially depend on the goodwill of individuals.

However, there are groups and programs in place to deal with the problem.

The Community Cat Project, in which Iizuka is involved, intends to sterilize all stray cats in one neighborhood and have residents protect the felines as their ``community cats.''

Residents appointed to feed the cats will also clean up the animals' eating places and droppings. The costs are paid with funds collected from the area's residents.

For cat haters, the benefits are long-term. Stray cats are believed to live four to five years on average, meaning that a neighborhood involved in the project would likely be free of strays in a few years.

The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to designate 10 sample areas for this project within three fiscal years from last April. It will accept up to 10 cats per area for free sterilization operations in public institutions.

Volunteers will distribute fliers to inform cat feeders that they will be responsible for cleaning up after the animals. The fliers will also clearly state that it is against a law to abandon or brutalize cats.

A small residential district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, where Iizuka lives, was designated in April as the first area for the sterilization project.

A facilitator of the project, Iizuka has gained control of more than a dozen sterilized cats in the area. She says she knows all the cats in the neighborhood and where they dwell. New cats in the area rarely escape her attention.

People chip in for the project at a neighborhood tobacco shop by dumping their change into a cat-shaped tin can modeled after a popular comic character. Children also visit the shop to donate part of their allowances.

But cats are not confined by community borders. So for the project to be successful, it must expand to adjacent areas.

Iizuka has walked around neighboring districts and realized each area required a different strategy. In areas where apartment buildings occupy much of the land, she found difficulties gaining a foothold because of the lack of communication among residents. The citizens there were virtually strangers to one another.

For old neighborhoods where the residents may have deep-rooted troubles, Iizuka had to exercise extreme caution to avoid getting embroiled in the emotional conflicts.

She started by following stray cats to find the people who feed them, and painstakingly solicited them for the project. She also posted handouts to let others know about the project. In old neighborhoods, she talked to community leaders.

The task has been exhausting but she has seen positive signs. People are now talking about community cat strategies.

``When people try to cooperate to solve stray cat issues, they expand their circle of communication,'' she says. ``They can use the problems as a chance to improve their community.''

She believes that people can solve most problems if they care about where they live.

``People who care little about their community would tell their kids to put the kittens back where they had found them abandoned,'' she says. ``And the kids think it is OK to throw away animals.

``Children learn more if their parents are willing to discuss with them and their neighbors to find out what to do.''

One part of the project makes Iizuka uncomfortable: spaying or neutering the animals.

Iizuka says it is always emotionally painful to see the terrified felines on the way to the vet.

``I feel sad because the scared cats are a reminder that the animals are, after all, at the mercy of humans,'' she says.

This fact is not lost on the Save Animals Love Animals Network (SALA) in Tokyo's Fuchu city. The four-member regular staff and volunteers of the group currently take care of 50 dogs abandoned by their masters. They take the dogs for walks, feed them and clean their cages until they find new owners.

Kasumi Tanino, who runs SALA, agrees with Iizuka that human awareness must change to solve the problem of deserted animals.

SALA promotes its activities and collects contributions every Saturday evening near the West Exit of Shinjuku Station.

On one recent occasion, group members came out with three full-grown Newfoundlands and five smaller dogs and put up their billboard in the middle of a busy pedestrian roadway.

Passers-by, from infants to the elderly, swarmed around them to get a closer look at the dogs. A middle-aged woman brought food, a young man offered a hug for each dog and many made cash donations.

``It seems we are attracting more people than usual,'' said Lemi Ienaka who has been working for the organization since June. ``I guess that's partly because we have brought particularly large dogs today.''

The scene may be heartwarming, but it is tough finding new homes for deserted animals because many ``dog lovers'' are not necessarily responsible owners.

Many dogs at the shelter were discarded by irresponsible masters for foolish reasons, such as they ``had grown larger than expected,'' they are ``spoiled and bite people'' or they ``excrete too much.''

SALA members are careful not to pass their dogs to other callous hands.

During the campaign in Shinjuku, a middle-aged man sat down on the pavement and demanded SALA give him a middle-size crossbreed that he found particularly adorable.

But a staff member patiently explained that he needed to visit the group's office and follow certain procedures.

Tanino says she often runs across selfish people in her animal rescue mission. In one episode, a boy came to the group to offer volunteer work. He took a puppy to a park for the sole purpose of making it the target of his radio-control cart. When Tanino rescued the injured pup and severely scolded the boy, his mother only said, ``See, you shouldn't have visited this place.''

``I think most people today are concerned only about themselves,'' Tanino says. ``That makes me think that I should provide children with opportunities to take care of animals and learn to be responsible for and considerate about others.''

She welcomes work offers from children. Currently, 30 primary school children regularly visit the shelter as volunteers.

Since July, SALA has been carrying out a signature-collecting campaign to turn closed-down schools into animal shelters. Tanino says she hopes such large facilities will not only rescue as many abandoned pets as possible but also provide educational opportunities for children.

So far 50,000 people have signed the petition. Tanino plans to collect 100,000 signatures by next July and submit them to government offices.