Pink cat incident steps up inspection on pet stalls

Manama

A recent raid conducted in pet stalls in Isa Town Market to inspect the way animals are treated served as a minor victory for the many animal rights activists in Kingdom. 

Inspections were upgraded after the picture of a cat dyed in pink colour circulated on social media.  Outrage over the ill-treatment of animals sold at Isa Town Market has been ongoing for some time now. And when Bilal Aslam saw a cat being kept in unhygienic conditions, he took a photo of it and uploaded it on different animal welfare pages on Facebook.

“The place is crammed and covered in faeces and the cat was in a horrific state. It looked as if it was going to die as there was no food or water anywhere near it”, he told DT News.

Similarly, concerned individuals regularly share posts of the animals, in hope of seeing a change. Last week, a picture of an ill white cat, caught the attention of BSPCA member Cheryl Nielson. 

She decided to go there and give food and water to the animals. However, she was in for a shock when she saw that the cat was dyed in pink colour to attract buyers and to hide its illness. 

“The stall owner was apparently ignorant of the fact that animals are sensitive to the chemicals in colour dyes,” she said. 

Impacting change and hope

Following this incident, she, along with BSPCA Chairman Mahmood Al Faraj, conducted a thorough inspection and instructed vendors to follow the terms of the animal welfare law. They rescued the pink cat, which is now under the care of BSPCA.

“This is a result of the hard work of many animal rights activists. I can’t thank Mahmood enough for his efforts. He, myself, the consulate and police will be going again next weekend to make sure the vendors are following the laws,” Cheryl told DT News.

She added the BSPCA Chairman has asked the landowner of the souq to clean the property and air-condition it. 

Cheryl has also invited volunteers to accompany her during the weekly inspections.  Interested persons  can contact her on qwltlady60@yahoo.com