By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Stray cats in Seoul will be neutered starting next year as part of the city government's efforts to control their numbers.
The city government said Monday that Seoul's 25 districts would adopt a neutering program, which two districts, Yongsan-gu and Gangnam-gu, introduced earlier this year on a trial basis.
In the project, called TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), stray cats will be trapped and neutered after 30 days, allowing their owners a chance to reclaim them. After surgery, they will be tagged and returned to the street.
When neutered, cats are less aggressive and make less noise, according to a city official.
``Citizens have complained about stray cats, as they stray into residential areas at night, hunting for food in garbage bins and making a loud noise during the mating season. So we've decided to control the number of cats through neutering,'' he said.
Gangnam-gu and Yongsan-gu captured and neutered 69 and 93 cats, respectively, during the first six months of this year.
It costs 50,000 won to 100,000 won to neuter a male cat and 100,000 to 150,000 won for a female. The city government and district offices will pay half of the costs each, and Seoul city will allocate 330 million won in next year's budget for the program.
``A cat can get pregnant two to three times a year and she gives birth to an average of four to five kittens per litter. So if we don't control the number of stray cats properly, the number will increase exponentially,'' the official said.
The city estimates the number of stray cats in Seoul at 30,000.
According to the official, many animals' rights groups, which oppose mercy killing of stray cats, recognize the need to control their number through neutering.
``It will not be easy to capture stray cats as they do not approach people easily. But we expect to limit their number to a certain level if we continuously carry out the project,'' the official said.
Since 2000, several local authorities in Korea have adopted the TNR program.