귀 잘린 고양이의 역사 [유레카]

Many people have encountered a cat with a slightly missing ear. If they have, the cat is likely one that has undergone a procedure known as TNR or TNR - Trap, Neuter, and Return. TNR is a method used to control the population of stray cats by neutering them and then returning them to their original territory. This practice began in the early 2000s in places like Goyang, Seongnam and Seoul, and became a formal national policy in 2018.

The question of why and when cat owners started neutering their pets dates back to the 1950s in the United Kingdom. A group of animal welfare advocates, including University of Edinburgh animal welfare alliance and veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Lembridge, questioned the common practice of capturing and disposing of unfamiliar wild cats.

This marked a significant change from previous efforts by animal protection organizations to exterminate outdoor cats. The practice was popularized in the mid-1960s by fashion model Sylvia Heumann, who developed her own trapping equipment and successfully neutered stray cats, returning them to their original homes. She argued that "killing cats is less efficient and humane than preventing them from reproducing."

Scientific backing for TNR came in 1978 with Dr. Lembridge's first academic paper and the London Regents Park case study in 1984. The debate over the "utility of neutering" continues to this day. Since the middle of July, the "Cattery Ban Law" debate has also been centered on this issue. Author Kwun Mupo's book "Social Study of Stray Cats" describes neutered cats as "boundary animals" placed between nature and humans.

In exchange for the loss of reproductive ability, they become "equivalent citizens" of society. By recognizing the "voting rights" of cats within our society, the "right to hunt" of countless birds must also be acknowledged, he argues. In a recent parliamentary committee on July 26th, the committee tabled a resolution on "Ownershipless Cat Feeding System and Management System Improvement," sparking further debate. After 26 years, we find ourselves once again facing the same question.