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Israel The following comes from the web site of the Cat Welfare Society of Israel. In an attempt to halt the spread of rabies, the Israeli Govt is using on stray cats a poison banned throughout the civilised world due to the cruel death it inflicts. For defenceless animals to be so treated in a nation formed as a result of Man's inhumanity to his fellow man is a sad statement on how slow we are to learn compassion. Please visit their site and help in their fight.  Click image to download 5mb mpeg or click here to view streaming rm in low resolution (600kb suitable for dial-up connections - Real Player required - free download here) Why did we video the poisoned gray cat? People who view our video will surely ask, "Why are they video taping that cat and not rushing him to the vet? " It's a good question. When we learned about the poisonings we knew we had to document the killing. We also knew that there was not one CWSI staff member or volunteer who could stand aside facing these dying cats, like the gray cat in Givat Ada who is featured in our movie, and take no action. This is why we hired a private detective to do the filming. Although each and every one of us would want to hug and take home all the strays, saving them one by one after they are poisoned is not practical nor is it efficient. We could never save them all this way, not even the majority of them. People also need to know that any intervention with Israeli vet authorities' work is a punishable criminal offence. Several years ago, in the city of Arad, a private veterinarian got arrested and was very close to loosing his license because he took dying cats off the street for humane euthanasia instead of letting them endure the long agony of poisoning! The only long term, effective solution is the legislative one. The only legal basis for this extermination of strays is the Rabies Ordinance from the days of the British Mandate. It is time for it to be changed. We hope that by watching the video, people will be moved to action and put pressure on Israeli parliament members and government officials. Then, and only then, we will be able to save the cats, not individually but by groups. If we can do this, the gray cat, and the many more like him, will not have died in vain. Please help us spread the word. Please sign our petition and continue sending email and faxes on behalf of these cats. Every signature and letter makes a difference. Thanks a lot for caring. Only united with help from all our friends we can make it. Dana Goldberg Cat Welfare Society of Israel TM |