THE cat war which was being waged at the Leaping Frog Shopping Centre in Beverley is over after the feuding parties agreed to a mutual way forward.
Zoe van Onselen, head of marketing for the shopping centre, told Fourways Review that Accelerate Property Fund, the management, and the National Cats Action Taskforce (NCat) had reached an agreement.
Read: Claws out over cats
This stand-off followed after the centre’s management wanted to stop the current cat caregivers from feeding cats at the Centre. It was alleged that the management wanted the cats removed as they were a nuisance to tenants. NCat, the caregivers, disagreed as they felt that removing feral cats from their environment was a violation of animal rights.
However, the warring parties finally settled their differences.
“Accelerate Property Fund, the owners and the management company of Leaping Frog Shopping Centre, have agreed that feeding of the feral cats can continue at the centre,” said van Onselen in a joint statement with the management company.
“Provided that the feeder meets the following condition: The cats are fed in three designated areas only [to be agreed upon by the feeder and centre management], under a controlled environment. This was becoming an issue with the cats being fed all over the centre in the public/common areas.”
She added that the management of the centre undertook to seal the exposed roof of Leaping Frog Shopping Centre in an effort to prevent cats from soiling shops.
Read: Feral cats get the boot
Van Onselen said the sealing of the roof would only be carried out after a thorough assessment by the SPCA, to avoid trapping cats or kittens inside the roof.
She concluded, “It must be noted that the landlord has never stopped the feeding of the cats, just the way in which it was being done. These cats have been fed on site at Leaping Frog for approximately eight years, and will continue to… [be] under these controlled circumstances.”
Read more:
Cats will always be at shopping centres
Eradicating feral cats not the solution
