Opposition Member of Parliament, Viliame Naupoto says the Government needs to focus also on the prevention of cruelty to animals and more support is needed from stakeholders.
Naupoto thanked the Government for the $130,000 grant to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, however; he said that there are other animal shelters and sanctuaries around.
He said the one in Ba which is a ‘no kill’ shelter – “You can take stray animals there, and they will not put them down unless it is really necessary.”
“Can you imagine when strays are brought there because they have a ‘No Kill Policy’, dogs and cats they live, say 10 years all that time, they get fed, and they get looked after.”
He called on the Government to support this program too.
Naupoto said that the high number of stray dogs and cats in our urban and semi-urban areas is the reflection of the inhumane treatment and cruelty that we do to our animals.
He said it is not a good reflection of the character of our society.
“One day I went up to SPCA delivering old newspapers and an injured owl that came home. I think it was our cats that probably caught it, but it was still alive, but it couldn’t fly.
I took it down to SPCA and whilst I was there, I think this lady who was on her way to work was holding a small kitten. It was thrown by someone on the road, and she brought the kitten to SPCA.”
He added that he would be the voice of our furry friends.
