Kastrationsprojekte | Tierschutz A G

Castration projects

The situation for stray animals is simply unbearable in many places.

The problem of stray animals, which are multiplying explosively in many Eastern and Southern European countries, as well as outside of Europe, and consequently eke out a mostly miserable existence on the streets , is known to most people here and many people now deliberately adopt dogs and cats from Southern or Eastern Europe, as it is heartbreaking to see the massive suffering of these animals.

Stray dogs and cats are descendants of uncastrated domestic dogs and cats , which subsequently reproduce uncontrollably. An uncastrated dog or cat pair can produce more than 12,000 offspring after 5 years - with 2 litters per year and subsequent reproduction of their own uncastrated offspring! After 10 years, more than 80 million offspring could be traced back to an uncastrated pair of parents!

With this situation in mind, we have long since taken precautions, introduced a widespread castration requirement for free-roaming animals, and animal welfare organizations catch feral cats with live traps wherever possible, castrate the animals and then release them again.

As is well known, the situation is often different abroad , on the one hand because people in these – usually far less wealthy – countries often lack the necessary awareness and, on the other hand, because they also lack the necessary financial means .

It is not only "ownerless" animals that reproduce uncontrollably on the streets, but also animals that have an owner who does not have the animal neutered for financial reasons or a lack of awareness of the problem. Unwanted offspring are then either killed or chased away, and the number of strays on the streets continues to explode.

Most of these animals lead a painful life : the daily search for food and water is already exhausting, especially when the animals also have offspring to care for. Parasites and diseases spread quickly in stray populations and - like other injuries , even the most serious - remain untreated medically. Territorial fights and weather conditions such as heat, cold, wind and rain also cause problems for the animals, and ultimately they often have to fear violence from humans .

As a result of the large number of stray animals that were never wild animals and inevitably (have to) seek proximity to humans or human settlements in order to survive, conflicts between stray animals and local people are not uncommon (e.g. due to competition for food, biting incidents, car accidents or fear of disease transmission), and the population of the respective countries often has a strongly negative attitude towards these animals, so that targeted mistreatment or even killing is not uncommon.

To counteract the diverse suffering of stray animals abroad

we support selected local animal shelters in the care and rehoming of former stray animals (see Animal Shelter Support ),
we try, in cooperation with local animal welfare associations, to provide information to the population and decision-makers (politicians/authorities), and
We finance and organize castration projects as well as basic medical care for stray animals in order to combat the problem at its roots by curbing uncontrolled reproduction.

As part of the castration projects, stray dogs and cats are caught as gently as possible (including using live traps), examined by a veterinarian, given basic medical care (particularly parasite treatment), then castrated and marked and - if the animal's health allows it - released back into their territory. Malnourished, sick or weak animals receive further medical treatment and, if it appears beneficial for the animal's well-being, are taken into a local partner animal shelter instead of being released.

In addition, such castration projects should also give animal owners the opportunity to have their animals castrated free of charge, since these animals are also, as explained above, “part of the problem” and the owners often cannot or do not want to afford castration for financial reasons.

Castration project Morocco

In March 2024, Patricia traveled to Morocco with a group of Spanish veterinarians and animal rights activists from Salvando Peludos to gently capture and neuter as many stray dogs and cats as possible as part of a 5-day neutering project in 2 Moroccan regions, and release them back to their original home after the monitored awakening phase and necessary aftercare. With the active commitment of the entire team and with the support of local helpers, several hundred dogs and cats were neutered within a few days, thus making at least a small contribution to the sustainable reduction of the suffering of the countless stray animals on Morocco's streets.