Fines for cat feeders in Haifa
Cat feeders around the city say that in recent months Haifa municipality inspectors have started giving them fines for feeding the cats, even though they feed the cats exactly according to the municipality's instructions.
"What is expected of us?" They ask, "Can the street cats we've been feeding for years die? It won't happen!"
The pig outbreak hurts the cats
Lahi Fe has learned that the heavy enforcement of the cat feeders is intended to prevent the feeding of the pigs, which feed on leftover cat food, at many feeding stations throughout the city. The residue remains in the field when Some of the cat feeders (Not all of them) don't stay in the field to pick up what the cats left behind. The municipal inspectors locate the feeders who leave food in the area and fine them.
The outbreak of pigs throughout the city and the decision to stop thinning obliges the municipality to take drastic measures to stop feeding the pigs. One of the pigs' favorite food sources are the cat feeding stations, where sometimes there is a lot of fine food left over, which is especially loved by the pig population.
Watch: Pigs dine at a cat feeding station in Haifa
"Looking for reasons to fine"
Many cat feeders claim that in recent weeks, inspectors of the Haifa municipality have begun to register fines for them. According to them, although they make sure to feed the cats in accordance with the municipality's instructions, the inspectors are really looking for reasons to fine them. Some of them protest that the inspectors repeatedly come to the same place within a short period of time, and sometimes even eat the same feeder or feeder, several times.
According to the feeders, they have no choice, they have been feeding the cats for years (some even sterilized them at their own expense), and they are unable to stop feeding them. "What is expected of us?" They ask, "That the street cats that we have been feeding for years can be allowed to die, just because of an apparent whim of inspectors? It will not happen, and it does not matter how many fines we receive."
"Feeding cats for years"
Ch, one of the cat feeders who lives in Hadar Alyon and has been feeding cats for 10 years, agreed to share with the readers of Hai Pa what has been going on for him and his neighbors in the building, in the last two months.
Ch is a number: "On Monday 21/6/2021 at 22:30 p.m., my doorbell rang, and on the other side were two serious inspectors who demanded that I identify myself! It turned out that the two ambushed me in their car, which they parked in a hidden place, and wrote me a report. It is difficult to understand what the report was about. The fine payment notice was given by the inspector, even though I fed individual cats, with dry or wet food on top of receptacles (plates) in a corner empty of people, in a side place, in a measured amount, in accordance with the law, when the place looks clean And beautiful. I give the cats the food in a corner that once, decades ago, had garbage cans. Me and another neighbor (we'll get to her) cleaned it and keep it clean. I put the food on disposable plates, and this is so that the food does not mix with the dust on The floor will turn into a dirty mess, and I change the plates every now and then. It's hard to understand what's wrong with that."
"I own cats at my expense"
Ch continues: "It should be noted that in the past Mainly on my own the yard cats, so that there have been no puppies in the yard for many years. The cats that are found, about eight, are the ones that grew up in the yard or moved to it. But it was clear that the inspectors were 'looking' for me, and came with the clear aim of fining me. I've been feeding the cats this way for ten years, and an inspector has never come to warn me that something is wrong with the way I'm feeding. Furthermore, the inspector admitted to me that he had the authority to give me a warning, but he chose to give me a fine. The section in the fine, as far as I could understand, is 12c, a person will not feed an animal in the street in a way that has the potential to pollute the street. But it is clear from the above that I did not pollute the street. Three days later the inspectors beat again. On Thursday 24/6/2021 at 5:30 am (diligent inspectors!) the inspectors knocked on the door of my neighbor who lives on the first floor, and also accused her of illegal feeding according to the same section. Here it is not about the street but the yard, because she is feeding in front of her door, so we initially claimed that she was feeding wild pigs! But it's clear that the inspectors 'dressed up' our building."
"Anxiety and stress when feeding the cats"
This was not the last time the inspectors came to the building. "At four o'clock on Friday afternoon, 16/7/2021, they appeared again, this time while my neighbor was feeding the cats in the same corner (whose photo is attached). This time they probably didn't find a reason to file a report, but apparently took pictures. And a week ago, on Monday 9/8/2021, the inspectors appeared again at 9:50 a.m. and again wrote me a report, and again they found an excuse for it ("unsupervised") and in false wording ("spreading dry food in the street area" - the food is not It was spread but placed in plates, and it is not about the street area but the feeding corner.) It seems very clear that there is consistent harassment here - inspectors who appear at the same place three times in two weeks, four times in a month and a half (and probably more times when we did not meet them), and each time they look for Something that could be given a report for. In between they also lie - once they claimed against me that I left fish for the cats (a lie and a lie, not only did I not do this, but I am a vegetarian and I don't have any fish at all at home), another time they claimed against my neighbor that she feeds pigs (again a lie). In the meantime, an atmosphere of anxiety and tension has been created for us, and we look to all sides when we go to feed cats."
"Instead of helping, consim!"
About a year and a half ago, the municipality of Haifa stated that its policy is not to fine cat feeders, but to invest in advocacy for correct and measured feeding. But it turns out that statements are separate and actions in the field are separate. From the stories of many cat feeders it appears that we are faced with a choice - pay the fine, stop feeding and abandon hungry cats, or be judged.
"We are sure that the inspectors will continue to ambush us and other feeders to make us stop caring about the cats. And as one of the cat feeders wrote: Instead of the municipalities paying for food for the street animals, for organized feeding areas and for spaying and neutering, you are conning people? Where is such a thing heard??"
Watch: Cats and rats feast on poultry parts dumped on Sirkin Street by cat feeders (July 2021)
It is allowed to feed, but it is forbidden to leave leftovers in the area:
Ms. Ella Evin, Secretary General of the Noah Organization, the Israeli Association of Animal Protection Organizations, states that: "Feeding cats in Israel is allowed. It is only prohibited when it causes dirt. Moreover - feeding is allowed even in the area of a shared building, of course away from entrance doors and passageways. This is dry food, but it is also allowed to give the cats canned food, provided that the food is in a saucer that must be removed after the cat has finished Eat. If people put in too much food, they need to be educated and explained to them what to do. Because of the wild boars, it is necessary to make sure that the feeding is measured, and it is a matter of education. We were promised that the feeders would not receive fines, and that did not happen."
In an official meeting with representatives of feeders, it was stated unequivocally that the policy of the municipality is not to give reports, but to go on an awareness campaign, unless it is an extreme case that someone throws chicken bones out the window into the garden, or pollutes the environment. The conclusion was that if someone feeds cats in an improper manner Madoda, the municipality will come to him and explain to him how he should do this, and that no reports will be given. "It is clear that what is happening is exactly the opposite, and that they are "looking" for us to give reports, in fact for no real reason", say the feeders.
Watch: Cockroach population outbreak at a cat and pig feeding station in Haifa. The food remains in the field until the night hours
At a meeting held with hundreds of cat feeders in March 2019, according to the Haifa feeders, Haifa Mayor Dr. Einat Kalish said that "the needs of the animals and those who feed them must be understood," and officials in the municipality added that "feeding the street cats is a humane act, which is done intentionally favors and meets the existential need of the street cats."
Ruling against the cat feeders:
In a ruling handed down in the Haifa Magistrate's Court in 2006, the judge, Rebecca Lamelstrich-Letter, ruled against a cat feeder who was sued by her neighbor for feeding the cats in the yard of the building in a way that caused noise, dirt, and odor hazards, noting that "These problems all point to their simple solution, by feeding the cats outside the yard, which is common property... "The way is always open for the defendant to feed stray cats outside the common house and outside the yard". – "Now it seems that the municipality also blocks the possibility of feeding cats even outside the yard! "And if not inside the yard and not outside it, then where? According to the municipality's opinion, as expressed by the behavior of the inspectors - nowhere. Let the cats die." Minds that feed.
Feeding community cats in the State of Israel is permitted and is a legal right, in accordance with the rulings of the courts and in accordance with the position of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environmental Protection: the need of the 'street cats' for food is an existential need and their feeding cannot be prohibited, and the relevant government ministries have even issued orderly instructions on the subject.
Hila Laufer, city council member from Haifa's Green Movement and activist for animals for years:
The Haifa municipality decided that from now on cats will only be fed in a container and at the end of the feeding they will empty the container. A rationale that I certainly understand, but when a different form of feeding is recommended, it is appropriate that information be provided, to give the feeders an opportunity to align with the new guidelines, and this did not happen. What happened in practice, they started handing out fines to feeders who feed in the same way all their lives and in a way that does not pollute the environment, usually dry food in a proportionate amount. Feeding that has never been a problem on the part of the authority and without giving any explanation or information that these are the new guidelines for feeding cats. Of course, I exclude those who feed in a polluting way, those who spill quantities of dry or wet food, throw poultry and fish on the floor, etc... These deserve any fine because their way of feeding only causes damage to the environment and others. I am talking about the normative feeders who feed in a way that is not harmful and maintain a clean environment. It doesn't make sense for them to hand out fines before they went out with extensive information, only about a month ago they finally released information that is also flawed because in the publication they recommend how to feed, they don't guide, they don't inform that if they don't feed according to the recommendations they will be fined, from such a trap. Why not To mention this? I brought up the issue twice, I asked them to put it in order, so that it works properly and that means canceling all the fines unjustly given to feeders who do not pollute and who feed in a proportionate and clean manner but without a container, they will conduct a wide publicity, they will start with warnings recorded in the system + an explanation to the feeder of the rationale for feeding in a container Acceptance and evacuation after the end of the feeding, and if this does not help and they encounter the same feeder again after receiving a warning, they will be fined.
No response was received from Haifa Municipality until the time of publication of the article.
I have been giving food to street cats in Haifa Neva Shanan for more than 10 years. I always give in heavy plates made of Parsley, dry food intended for cats.
Before, I clean the place because people throw pieces of bread or bread or even vegetables, which makes it damp and smells bad.
Cats do not eat this waste! It should be noted that I also do spaying and neutering at my own expense.
At the beginning of the summer I started getting fines really without justice. Loaded with falsifications - drugs in the file of a report a photo of me with a photo of waste that someone else drugged.
The goal of the inspectors is only a fine and no concern for cleanliness. It is easier to catch a person who gives food in an orderly manner and it is almost impossible to catch someone who threw pieces of food and immediately runs away.
I feel now as if I am in Warsaw under the Germans.
It is difficult for me now to give food to the cats, it is difficult to organize sterilization because the cats strip while giving food and this is a process. Cleaning is also more difficult.
I decided to go to court.
The inspectors recognize my ID card and it's enough to see that I'm on the street and they're already writing a report with photos from another place.
In my opinion, the municipality needs to sterilize street cats and also give food or at least pay cat groomers
It should also be noted that at least some inspectors lie and are not suitable for the job.
Whoever wants to feed cats should take them to him, feed and water within his residential area!!! Do not spread cat food near houses that are not yours! The pigs are stronger!!! Destroying and polluting the environment!
The article does describe the nature of the municipality and it tended to enrich the municipality's coffers!!! The inspectors who give reports are ashamed of the uniforms they wear. Is it possible that they will lie with a determined forehead about things that actually did not happen and/or were not stated in the report? Is this how false reports should be given just for the sake of the cash register, and what if all the garbage that is thrown outside the container of the garbage, why are such people not fined because they are pigs? You don't get to the trash next to the garbage, what if if there is a dispute with a neighbor he tells lies and makes friends with the inspector and calls him to come and give a false report because why doesn't the inspector get to the witness who lied percent of the report Shame on the municipality!!!!
Everywhere in the world there are no street cats, every cat has an owner and he keeps his cat at home and takes care of it, the cat is not allowed to go out into the public space. This will solve the problem. Adopt the cats, take them home and don't feed them outside, that way the cats will live and the pigs will look for food elsewhere.
In Bat Galim there is a very serious problem regarding the feeding of cats, they are fed morning, noon and evening, scattered all over the neighborhood, the cats shit everywhere, destroy gardens, and leave a stench everywhere, what is happening in Bat Galim is disgusting, especially in the Brigade neighborhood
Maybe something will arise and take care of this hazard
Haifai is absolutely right
There is nothing on the Haifa people, truly a unique people.
Abandon their neighbors who live alone, but feed outside the cats that reproduce uncontrollably.
Not protesting against the lynchings their Jewish brothers went through, but protesting for the welfare of wild boars.
You don't vaccinate to stop an epidemic that kills thousands, but you care about the welfare of the food trucks.
Wow, crazy world
The enforcement officials in the city of Haifa do their job faithfully and rightly. It is impossible for wet food like meat and leftovers to be piled up next to condominiums and worse also thrown from the floors to the sidewalk with no care like in Schlossberg 1 I really like animals but the enforcement result of giving food to the young in irrelevant places sweeps away the pigs and rats that this is. A difficult and dangerous phenomenon and it is good that the municipality enforces it
Cats have become a symbol of coexistence with animals. They are less harmful than pigs and if you take a tour of the main streets in Hadar you will see that they rule.
Whoever wants a cat will take it to the apartment like dogs. Why should those who don't want cats suffer? Kudos to the Municipality for its work. I will try to attach horrible pictures of feeding in a residential area, a pity that can't get rid of the horrible smell from leaving the food in the sun for hours.
In the Bat Galim neighborhood of the pool housing there are a number of women who eat canned wet food several times a day. The food remains for hours on the sidewalk and on the ground and is not collected. This causes more crow bee skirts to live around the scraps. It bothers some of the neighbors. I would be happy if the opponent would also come to the neighborhood to follow those disturbing eaters.
Haifa municipality does not harass them. Good night
Very good here in Nosh, there is a couple that regularly feeds cats and the returnees celebrate eating their food even though we warned them until they eradicate the phenomenon the returnees will not disappear from here
The food of the cats on the street brings pigs. Anyone who wants to feed cats should not bring pigs and feed the cats at his house. This does not cheer anyone up.
Inspectors who issue fines indirectly kill cats.
Animals also have rights. The right to live without suffering. The right not to die of hunger and disease. If the government and the municipality do not take responsibility for financial reasons, then the citizen who cares helps and feeds.
Harming feeding citizens by fines is the wrong way.
There are other ways.
.
Hila Lauper's answer is acceptable to me. In our summary with the director general of the municipality, which Klish immediately threw in the trash, it is written, among other things, that the municipality will immediately start a public awareness campaign that includes, among other things, an appeal to cat feeders outside the houses with clear instructions on how it is permissible to feed the cats. Of course, after such a campaign, enforcement is required because it was proven long ago that A person who feeds incorrectly contributes with his own hands to the creation of a center of attraction for pigs who smell the food from a great distance. Even worse, some feeders spill a huge amount of food beyond the digestive capacity of cats and this immediately brings herds of pigs to the scene. I spoke with the head of the 'Nach' association which coordinates the complaints of the feeders And I asked her to launch a similar campaign on behalf of the association, but for some reason she unfortunately refused to cooperate, which is a shame!
Hila Laufer's answer is acceptable to me. In our summary with the director general of the municipality, it is written, among other things, that the municipality will immediately launch a public awareness campaign that includes, among other things, an appeal to cat feeders outside the houses with clear instructions on how it is permissible to feed the cats. Of course, after such a campaign, enforcement is required because it has already been proven that those who feed incorrectly with his own hands to create a center of attraction for pigs who smell the food from a great distance. Even worse, some of the feeders spill a huge amount of food beyond the digestive capacity of cats and this immediately brings herds of pigs to the place. I spoke with the head of the 'Nach' association that coordinates the complaints of the feeders and asked her to launch a similar campaign On behalf of the association, but for some reason she unfortunately refused to cooperate!
Come on, the municipality has lost its head, literally: to allow cats to die of starvation just to not thin out pigs? Have you forgotten that where there are cats there are no mice and snakes? The municipality of Haifa has really deteriorated beyond all criticism. I personally beg Yona Yahav to come back and kick myself for the bad choice I made.