Kaori Ono, a Hirosaki cat protection activity, is currently working on educational activities to prevent the deterioration of the cat breeding environment due to the aging of owners.

We carry out a signing campaign aiming for "zero cat killing", cat protection and fund-raising activities, and sales of cat merchandise at Onokin Shoten (Kitagawaga-cho, Hirosaki City), where a part of the sales is spent on activity costs. Mr. Ono. "This year, there were 13 cats that could not be kept due to the aging of their owners," he said.

According to Mr. Ono, all 13 cats were informed by the family that their cats could not be kept because their owners died in the facility or died, and they immediately called for foster parents. “I am worried that the number of pets that can no longer be kept in an aging society will increase in the future. Before that happens, I want to create just the opportunity to think with my family,” he says.

A person in charge at the Hirosaki City Southern Regional Comprehensive Support Center, who provides consultation and support for the elderly such as care prevention and lifestyles, said, "In an actual case, an elderly couple was sick and was hospitalized and was able to contact his family. I had no choice but to leave the cat that had been breeding multiple heads because it was not there. After a while, when I checked at home, the cat was gone."

"It is true that it is difficult for the elderly to deal with pets that cannot be kept. It is common to consult family members, but there are cases where the family cannot handle it alone, or the Animal Welfare Center also handles it. You may not get it."

The Animal Welfare Management Law was amended in 2012, and the Aomori Prefectural Animal Welfare Center can now refuse to accept pets brought in. Mr. Ono points out, "It is a natural result that the number of lethal dispositions has been declining in the statistics due to the revision. It is not possible to keep track of the cats that are no longer brought to the center."

Mr. Ono said, "In Hirosaki, there are some people who keep multiple cats without contraception and castration of cats, and some who feed only stray cats and do not keep them well. Not only the owner, but the cat There are also local governments that subsidize for surgery in order to improve the breeding environment in Japan. It may be necessary to change awareness throughout Hirosaki."