ENVIRONMENT Minister Dennis Lister has been sent letters of concern from vets and an animal welfare group after he floated the idea of a cull of feral cats.

Andrew Madeiros, president of the Bermuda Veterinarian Association and shelter chairman of the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA), said both organisations saw potential problems with the idea of a cull and had expressed their concerns in writing.

And Mr. Madeiros said there had been no consultation with the groups before Mr. Lister raised the suggestion in the House of Assembly a fortnight ago.

"What we as vets are concerned about is that the Minister has thrown out this idea without speaking to people who have a vested interest," said Mr. Madeiros. "It is perceived that they are making decisions on animal control without talking to the people involved. From a profesional perspective, I would say that is an unwise choice.

"Maybe they were just testing the waters to see what sort of response they would get, because there will be members of the public who are very strongly opposed to it.

"The idea of euthanising cats as a method of control comes with a lot of issues that need to be thought out ahead of time."

He said it would be difficult for those carrying out a cull to distinguish between feral animals and those owned as pets who spent most of their time outdoors.

The SPCA was looking at a system of fitting cats with microchips, as was being done with dogs already, he added.

But Mr. Madeiros believed it would take at least five years before a chip or tattoo system could be fully in place to allow a cull to be carried out without pets being among the victims.

In Parliament, Mr. Lister said the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB) programme of neutering feral cats to bring down the population had not stopped existing animals from hunting and causing damage to the environment. And he added that "the problem becomes so severe that the soft-hearted approach is not working.

"Chickens are being culled anyway. Maybe with cats it needs this approach and it's time to eradicate the problem to the fullest degree."

Mr. Madeiros said he believed the BFAB neutering programme had been effective in reducing the feral cat population, as many fewer kittens were now being brought into the SPCA shelter and there was greater demand for cat adoption.

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