Finland's new Animal Welfare Act prohibits unspayed female cats roaming freely outdoors

Finland has introduced a new Animal Welfare Act which deals with a number of problematic areas including what the Finnish call 'population cats' aka community cats or stray cats or feral cats. Here are some details about this new law...See below image for details.

The new Animal Welfare Act in Finland introduced measures to prevent uncontrolled reproduction, especially in cats. The law emphasizes that the reproduction of mammals, including cats, must be controlled by their owners. This means that letting unspayed female cats roam freely outdoors is not permitted, as it risks unregulated breeding and contributes to the feral cat population. The new rules aim to tackle the issue of abandoned and stray cats, which is a significant problem in Finland​.

In addition, there are strict regulations requiring cat owners to supervise their pets to prevent them from wandering freely. Cats left unsupervised outside of their owner’s property can be considered abandoned, which is against Finnish law​.

Further, Finland's new Animal Welfare Act, which came into force in 2024, represents a significant update to the country's approach to general animal protection. This comprehensive legislation strengthens protections for various animals, from pets to farm animals, and introduces several new measures aimed at improving their welfare.

Key Features of the Act:

1. Breeding and Pets: The Act includes strict rules on breeding, particularly for pets. It prohibits breeding practices likely to produce offspring with serious health issues or those that would cause harm to the animals. For instance, animals with hereditary defects that impair their well-being can no longer be bred.

2. Restrictions on Animal Use: The use of wild animals in circuses and traveling exhibitions is now banned. This includes prohibitions on keeping animals like sea lions in circuses, effectively ending the practice in Finland.

3. Care Requirements: The Act mandates that all mammals and birds should have continuous access to drinking water, although certain exceptions are allowed for species like reindeer and sled dogs under specific conditions. The law also imposes stricter requirements on the care of pets, ensuring they have proper opportunities for physical exercise, rest, and social interactions.

4. Ban on Certain Practices: The sale and use of electric and spiked collars have been banned, although electric cattle prods for farm animals are still allowed. Additionally, cosmetic surgeries like ear cropping and tail docking for dogs are prohibited.

5. Farm Animal Protections: The construction of new tie stalls for cattle has been banned, though existing ones can still be used. There are also enhanced requirements for the outdoor exercise of dairy cows, extending the mandatory walking period.

6. Fur Farming: Despite public pressure, fur farming was not banned, but the Act did not introduce new restrictions on this practice. This remains a controversial issue, with many advocating for a complete ban.

While the new Act introduces significant improvements, it has faced criticism for not going far enough in some areas, such as fur farming and the long transitional periods for certain practices. Nonetheless, it is a step forward in enhancing animal welfare standards in Finland.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Istanbul street cat is feed with a knife and fork at a restaurant

Istanbul street cat gets his way at a restaurant. Screen grab.

This is what I like to see only street cats can have fleas and sometimes very badly but this fella seems very healthy so perhaps he is looked after. I think he is a bit of a feature at this Istanbul restaurant and in being known he manages to get his way which is great.

The Turkish are pretty sensitive to the needs of stray cats which are often better described as community cats. Turkey (Türkiye) is the land of community cats.

This is a nice guy. The person with whom he is eating predicted the cat would arrive as they have their camera ready.

Street cats in Istanbul be like
byu/ledim35 inMadeMeSmile

In Istanbul, street cats are a bit of a feature and there are several reasons for this. I can think of three or four. Firstly, Turkey is an Islamic country and you probably know that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats and this has fed through over the centuries to the 21st century. 

His love of cats helps to protect stray cats today across the world where the Islam faith is predominant. Although it doesn't completely save them from being abused because even within the Islam faith you will find good and bad people and some people liking and some disliking cats but there's this background appreciation of the cat thanks to the Prophet.

Secondly, there are lots of tourists and visitors to Istanbul which is situated on the Bosphorus Strait. Tourists like to interact with the cats and feed them. In fact, the man in the video might be a tourist but I don't think that he is.

And perhaps the cats have become a tourist feature of Istanbul, part of the attraction of the city for tourists.

And thirdly, it's probably fair to say that Turkish residents might have a less than optimal attitudes towards spaying and neutering cats and therefore when they become strays they procreate. Although the municipality of Istanbul has implemented various initiatives to control the population with TNR programs.

And fourthly, Turkey is quite a warm place and this helps to foster the procreation of street cats because they are protected by the climate.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Outdoor cats are 'free cats' which you can take (according to Twitter X user)

A Twitter X user, Sophiane (see below), says that outdoor cats are free cats and you can just take them, which is complete baloney. It is complete BS. I have never heard anything more ridiculous it all my life. Is she kidding?

What this woman is saying is absurd. She follows up by saying that it is not legal advice. You could say that! Outdoor cats are often indoor/outdoor cats and in which case they will be owned cats. As they have an owner, they cannot be taken by anybody because that would be theft and a crime.

Sophiane who said on Twitter X that outdoor cats are free cats that can be taken. Wrong!

A lot of outdoor cats are owned cats. You have to check whether they are owned by scanning for a microchip. If the cat has a microchip containing current details, then you can reunite the cat with their owner if they are lost. But see the last paragraph!

Often, they won't be lost and they will find their way home in any case.

Also, regarding feral cats which are invariably outdoors, you won't just take one back home because that wouldn't work either. Feral cats are unsocialised and therefore they do not fit into a home because they are fearful of humans.

Obviously, there are complexities because some feral cats are semi-feral and they might fit in to a family home and further, you might be able to take that cat as your own if there is no microchip as mentioned.

The point really is that just because a cat is outdoors you cannot assume that it does not have an owner and therefore can 'take it' Sophiane is implying that you can do entirely as you please with respect to an outdoor cat. I am not even sure if she is being serious.

Perhaps she might be joking. That seems possible because what she has said is so outrageous and so obviously incorrect.

There are many types of cat that are outdoors at any one time. Some might be indoor/outdoor cats as mentioned. Some might be 'barn cats' (farm cats) which are outdoors nearly all the time but they are still domesticated and usually owned by the farmer. 

Some might be semi-feral cats which are socialised to a certain extent to humans. Some might be true feral cats which you can't go near because they are entirely fearful of people because they are entirely unsocialised to people. 

RELATED: Residential Park management get away with poisoning community cats.

And there are community cats which are domestic cats that live outside within a community and which are fed by the community usually shopkeepers et cetera. 

This last kind of arrangement is normally found in Asia such as countries like India and Pakistan where you will see lots of outdoor cats which are actually looked after within the community except, they normally do not take these cats to a veterinary clinic when they need veterinary medical help. 

That's the great weakness of community cats. But no single person usually owns a community cat. They are owned loosely by the community.

So, these various types of outdoor cat create complexities in terms of ownership.

Lastly, a microchip with correct details is not absolute, irrefutable evidence that the person as set out on those details owns the cat. It is good evidence but not complete evidence because things might have happened since the registration of the microchip. The person may have given away the cat to somebody else who did not register their name on the microchip for instance.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

This stray cat brings his feline friends to a Metro station in Istanbul

Ginger tabby owns the Istanbul Metro. Screenshot.

This video, for me, is a reflection of the relationship that Turkish people living in Turkey have with their stray cats. They have community cats in Turkey and Turkey has an ancient tradition going back thousands of years to be kind to street cats. That's the way I see it. There are two cat breeds which originated in Turkey namely the Turkish Van and the Turkish Angora. Although, in my view, they are one and the same cat breed. What happened was this: the cat fancy took one Turkish non-purebred community cat and turned it (selective breeding) into two different cat breeds. But that's my theory and I can't really support it.

The real Turkish Vat.

But the real Turkish Angora is entirely different to the American cat fancy version of the Turkish Angora. And something similar can be said about the Turkish Van.

The real Turkish Angora.

But to get back to the video, initially we see a ginger tabby enjoying sitting on the barrier to Istanbul's Metro. The reason why this cat is there is because it is warm. They enjoy the warmth coming out of the machine. 

And then people stroke him because he is adorable (the vast majority of ginger tabby cats are male cats). And when they stroke him, he might follow them down the escalator by sliding down the side of it as if he is on one of those ski slopes about to do a job at the end.

And at the end of the video, you will see that feline mates of his join him in Istanbul's Metro where they do exactly the same thing; sitting on the warm ticket barrier waiting to be petted. It is here that they get access to company and some interaction with humans. That's what they like.

They should be in someone's home. It looks cute and lovely in many ways but it is very sad in another way. They don't have a genuine home and a cat caregiver to look after them properly. That is the failure of community cats. People do look after them in an ad hoc way but they don't really get the kind of care they need such as veterinary care.

Black-and-white cat gives birth to tortoiseshell kittens

This black-and-white female cat was living under a motorcycle cover in America somewhere (I believe). The person who owns the motorcycle saw her. At the time she was scared and pregnant. This unknown person whose Reddit username is: u/mama-and-babies, provided her with a beautiful, secure, safe and warm home for her family. 

Everything looks perfect and you can't beat cardboard for keeping cats warm. She looks content and safe. Whoever the person is they've done a very good job. It sort of restores faith in the human race!

Black-and-white cat gives birth to tortoiseshell kittens. Photo: as per above.

As I said, the mother is black-and-white, while her kittens appear to be tortoiseshell-and-white with plenty of white (calico). They have very interesting and beautiful patterns. I think they are going to be popular cats for rehoming when the time comes. 

The father can't be a tortoiseshell because tortoiseshells are always female and if they are male, they are usually sterile so not sure how these cute kittens came to come into existence! They do look as if they have orange, white and black fur which indicates to me a calico cat.

Perhaps both parents (non-tortie) carried the recessive gene for the tortie coat. I am guessing. Actually, it is far more complicated than that!

Perhaps the male is a rare sexually functioning tortoiseshell. If that is the case, might he be valuable? Find him immediately! :). 

I have overcomplicated things. If the male cat was orange the offspring would be calicos. The commenter is correct.

HOW MUCH IS A MALE CALICO CAT WORTH? - CLICK TO FIND OUT!

Wild Whiskers of Tauranga, New Zealand do a great job in managing community cats

The photograph that you see on this page caught my eye, which is why I was drawn to writing about this rescue organisation: Wild Whiskers of Tauranga, New Zealand. In New Zealand there is an issue with feral cats. In line with their neighbours, Australia, the country want to kill feral cats and simply get rid of them in the most convenient and expedient way, which leads to cruelty. So it is particularly nice to read about this caring organisation, managed and owned by veterinary nurse Sharna Asplin.

 Wild Whiskers of Tauranga, New Zealand do a great job in managing community cats. Photo: Wild Whiskers.

Sharna is a smart cookie. She is very sensible and organised. Everything that she has said about community cat in her area is absolutely spot on correct. Every organisation concerned with managing and caring for community cats in the interests of the cats and the residents should see how she works.

She runs a volunteer-run group and they have two focuses. In the summer it is kitten season and over this period she uses her best efforts to take in feral kittens (she describes them as "wild kittens") and to socialise them so that they can become loved domestic cats in their adulthood. The kitten should be within that critical timeframe, the first eight weeks of life approximately, when they can be socialised successfully and relatively easily. It's much harder to socialise adult feral cats.

She has 20 foster carers across Tauranga who take the kittens in. They make sure that the kittens will become excellent companion animals and after that assessment they treat the kittens for fleas and worms and sterilise, vaccinate and microchip them.

They put them up for adoption. The other focus is during the winter months when they employ TNR techniques. They do this with considerable care and the involvement, wisely, of the residents. They make sure that the community cats are not owned by posting on social media. They also scan for microchips and if possible they place a "found cat collar" on the cat. They also contact local veterinary clinics. They then neuter the cats and release them back to where they came from.

She says that they only conduct TNR where there are proper systems in place, namely that there is a volunteer to manage the colony or cat and a regular food source so that the cats does not present a danger to native wildlife.

Sometimes they have to euthanize a feral cat because of injury and/or sickness.

She says that they have rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed over 100 kittens in the past season from October to April and they have trapped, neutered and returned adults.

She makes the excellent point that as these are community cats she needs to ensure that she engages with the community to obtain their cooperation. This, I'm sure, helps to avoid antagonism and it also helps to create a community spirit in dealing with what is a community problem. She says that if a citizen of the area finds a stray cat the best thing that they can do is to take photographs and post a description of the cat online. This helps to get the ball rolling because they can find out whether the cat is feral or owned.

It can be difficult to distinguish between a domestic cat which has become a stray, looking dirty and starving, and a genuine feral cat. People should not assume that because a cat is dirty and thin that it is a feral cat. The same by the way goes for behaviour. Often domestic cats can be fearful of strangers which is a behavioural trait of feral cats. For this reason, I have always argued that people should not be shooting at cats that they believe are feral (if approved by the local authority). It might be shooting someone's pet which has become lost or has been abandoned. Anyway it is essentially very cruel.

In acknowledgement of her good work the local authority has provided her with a $4000 grant which has been a great help to her during the coronavirus pandemic because it precluded her ability to raise funds. Well done to Sharna.

My thanks to Sun Live for the report.

Cat on Terrorist's Lap Photograph

This is a peculiar photo of a jihandist and an orange and white community cat.

Jihadists are people engaged in armed jihad. They are people described as terrorists. This photo was, I believe, posted on Twitter by ISIS, the new, very large group of Muslim terrorists who have invaded Iraq and who have carved out a new Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader from inside Iraq (a "caliphate") - they claim.

The word "jihad" has been hijacked by Islamic terrorists because it is meant to mean "to struggle in the way of Allah" which is to do good, as I understand it.

The breeding ground for these jihadists is Syria. Syria has been neglected by the West and they are paying the price.

The photo is part of the relatively sophisticated media campaign waged by ISIS on Twitter and other social media sites to promote their cause and recruit "troops".

The caption for the photo is:

"Cats love Mujahideen! 

BTW This bro dint want his wife to know that hes here,so just saved his smile aftr the edits=D"

Make of it what you will. We know how news media promote their newspapers with cat stories; this looks like a ISIS promo type image projecting a softer image.