Housekeeping: Kitten Desexing

Hi guys, I thought it worthwhile me having a chat about the legalities around kittens and desexing etc.

Since July 1st 2012, in Tasmania, under the Amendments to the Cat Management Act of 2009, it is illegal to sell or give away any kitten which is:

• not desexed,

• not microchipped,

• not vaccinated, wormed or health checked by a vet, or

• is under the age of 8 weeks.

There exists some exemptions, and those include the sale of non-desexed kittens and cats between registered breeders, and cats and kittens that are sold under a desexing/microchip contract or "care arrangement".

The parliament is also looking at further amendments which would make these laws even tighter. One proposed amendment is that all kittens over the age of 4 months, unless owned by a registered breeder, must be desexed.

As a breeder living in a suburban area, I definitely notice all the undesexed tom cats that respond to my girls being on heat. I believe that if these new amendments are passed, we would see a significant decline in the population of unwanted/unplanned kittens in our animal welfare system.

Wouldn't it be great if Tassie was a state where only planned kittens are born and raised in nurturing environments!!

As a side note: I love all cats, not just ragdolls, and love my rescue cats just as much as my pedigreed cats. I don't believe all cats need to be purebred, or expensive, to be loved and cherished. However, I do believe that all kittens should be brought into the world on purpose and by breeders who adhere to a reasonable code of ethics. I believe that all kittens should be born into caring environments, be nurtured and raised with love. And maybe, with the help of the authorities, Tassie can be doing this for our beloved cats, MOST of the time.

Well, that's my Saturday night done and dusted... It was obviously a crazy party filled evening in another covid-19 day at the Lovegood household, as I spent it thinking about cats' genitals 😂🤣

Tasmanian cat laws