Cat Manifesto Northern Ireland | Campaigns

Cats Protection has been leading the way to campaign to make sure cats are not forgotten by decision makers in Northern Ireland.

The Cat Manifesto Northern Ireland sets out our five key areas we want to see action taken on to ensure cats are protected.

We want to see changes made to ensure all cats are able to live free from cruelty, exploitation and suffering.

Read The Cat Manifesto Northern Ireland

Give cats their best life

All cats in Northern Ireland deserve the best start and to be well cared for throughout their life. Cats need to be protected from both those who knowingly exploit them for profit, and those who may unintentionally cause them harm.

Review regulations on the sale of cats
Regulate cat breeding
Ban the breeding of cats with extreme characteristics
Regulate animal rescues, rehoming organisations and pounds
Tackle activities that are harmful to cats, such as cat cafés, cat yoga and cat daycare
Regulate those who provide activities involving cats, such as cat groomers and cat sitters

End cruelty to cats

Cats face violence and cruelty far too often. We need stronger laws to protect cats from cruelty.

Ban the sale and use of cruel aversive training devices
Ensure legal protections for feral cats

Protect cats in a digital world

Cats are becoming part of the digital world as more of our lives are spent online. Cats are being harmed due to a lack of action by social media companies and other websites.

Tighten up rules on selling cats online to make sure cats and buyers are protected
Encourage advertisers and the media to show cats responsibly
Encourage social media companies to take harmful content seriously. We’re calling for content containing animal abuse to be removed swiftly

Recognise cats as family

Cats provide important companionship and support for many people. Cats Protection is calling for recognition of the importance of cats to their families. We support laws which keep cats and their owners together.

Introduce compulsory microchipping of pet cats and create a single point of search for microchip databases
Encourage pet-friendly rented housing
Include animal welfare on the curriculum
Acknowledge the benefits of cats to people’s wellbeing
Raise awareness of the welfare issues of cat hoarding and multi-cat households

Keep cats safe and secure

Cats are sometimes put in danger by parts of life that we may not realise impact them, such as fireworks displays and certain flowers. We are calling for better education about how cats can

Promote better labelling of toxic products like lilies
Ban the sale and use of snares and glue traps
Restrict the use of fireworks

How can MLAs help?

If you are a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and want to support our Cat Manifesto Northern Ireland, please contact our Advocacy & Government Relations team at advocacy@cats.org.uk

Read The Cat Manifesto Northern Ireland