Hospital's 'shocking' cat removal tender
A tender invited by the Ministry of Health and Social Services for the removal of cats at the Rundu Intermediate Hospital has been described as shocking by local experts.
Although the tender is about getting rid of cats the documents does not indicate how many cats there are, which is why applicants must quote a price per cat removed.
The tender is dated 12 January and submissions should be made by Saturday.
According to a source within the hospital's structures, the number of cats at the hospital has become worrisome and therefore prompted the ministry to issue the first tender of its kind to remove cats from a public hospital.
“The cats are a lot and that's why the letter clearly states unknown number as today you see a black cat and tomorrow a brown one,” the source said.
Commentators say the reason why cats are attracted to places like hospitals is because the hospitals are filthy and attract mice and rats.
The ministry's spokesperson, Ester Paulus, did not respond to questions sent to her.
The founder of the animal welfare project Have-a-Heart, Lindie Prinsloo, described the tender as shocking. She said the ministry could just have contacted the right people, who would have humanely removed the cats for free.
Prinsloo said there are not many organisations in Namibia that have the know-how of handling domestic animals.
“I saw on the tender there is even something about a Social Security Certificate. This is not a tender for a building. They should have just approached the right people,” she said.
The tender does not specify how the cats should be handled. It only says the contractors should make arrangements with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for their disposal.
There is no SPCA branch at Rundu; the nearest one is at Grootfontein.
The Windhoek SPCA's branch manager, Sylvia Breitenstein, said there had been no communication between them and the ministry regarding the issue.
Breitenstein said she had never heard of such a tender, pointing out that the SPCA had assisted the ministry with a similar project at the Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek.
“They used to call us for the Katutura State Hospital and we go and assist them,” she said.
Breitenstein said the best way to control feral cat colonies is to trap, neuter and release them. Such colonies play an important role in controlling pest such as rats.
She emphasised that if the ministry went ahead with the Rundu tender the cats must be handled in a humane way.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Although the tender is about getting rid of cats the documents does not indicate how many cats there are, which is why applicants must quote a price per cat removed.
The tender is dated 12 January and submissions should be made by Saturday.
According to a source within the hospital's structures, the number of cats at the hospital has become worrisome and therefore prompted the ministry to issue the first tender of its kind to remove cats from a public hospital.
“The cats are a lot and that's why the letter clearly states unknown number as today you see a black cat and tomorrow a brown one,” the source said.
Commentators say the reason why cats are attracted to places like hospitals is because the hospitals are filthy and attract mice and rats.
The ministry's spokesperson, Ester Paulus, did not respond to questions sent to her.
The founder of the animal welfare project Have-a-Heart, Lindie Prinsloo, described the tender as shocking. She said the ministry could just have contacted the right people, who would have humanely removed the cats for free.
Prinsloo said there are not many organisations in Namibia that have the know-how of handling domestic animals.
“I saw on the tender there is even something about a Social Security Certificate. This is not a tender for a building. They should have just approached the right people,” she said.
The tender does not specify how the cats should be handled. It only says the contractors should make arrangements with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for their disposal.
There is no SPCA branch at Rundu; the nearest one is at Grootfontein.
The Windhoek SPCA's branch manager, Sylvia Breitenstein, said there had been no communication between them and the ministry regarding the issue.
Breitenstein said she had never heard of such a tender, pointing out that the SPCA had assisted the ministry with a similar project at the Katutura State Hospital in Windhoek.
“They used to call us for the Katutura State Hospital and we go and assist them,” she said.
Breitenstein said the best way to control feral cat colonies is to trap, neuter and release them. Such colonies play an important role in controlling pest such as rats.
She emphasised that if the ministry went ahead with the Rundu tender the cats must be handled in a humane way.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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