|
Toronto Wildlife Centre and the Canadian Cats Indoors Alliance are launching an education campaign with a focus in the Beach area in Toronto to raise awareness about the dangers faced by free-roaming pet cats, and to encourage residents to take action to keep animals safe by keeping pet cats indoors or in protected outdoor enclosures. The campaign kicks off June 22/09 in Kew Gardens where residents are welcome to stop by between 11am-1pm to check out a portable outdoor cat enclosure — a safe alternative for outdoor pets — as well as to catch a first glimpse of the campaign's creative visual. The campaign, created by Agency 59, takes a sobering look at the too-short lifespan of free-roaming outdoor cats — an average of 10 years shorter than their indoor counterparts. The ad will be appearing over the summer in TTC vehicles and stations, and posted in windows of businesses, community centres and libraries throughout the Beach area. A new Web site has also been launched at www.keepanimalssafe.ca, which includes more information about the issue, answers to frequently asked questions about indoor and outdoor cats, useful tips to help you transition cats to the indoors, as well as safe alternatives to letting cats roam unsupervised outdoors. Free-roaming outdoor cats face many dangers including cars, human cruelty, debilitating diseases, exposure to poisonous chemicals and predation by other animals. Spring and summer are the deadliest times for outdoor cats, and the wild animals they prey upon. Dr. Barbara Bryer of the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Toronto advises that the warmer weather brings a “significant spike (in outdoor cat admissions to vet clinics) due to traumas, illnesses and toxins.” Dr. Tim Arthur of Coxwell Animal Clinic says that spring ands summer bring on “dramatic increases in cat fight injuries and vehicular trauma.” Outdoor cats also have a devastating effect on wildlife, particularly during the spring and summer when wild animals are nesting and raising young. Research estimates that outdoor cats collectively kill more than a billion wild animals every year in North America alone. The Keep Animals Safe campaign is being made possible through the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Pro-bono contributions were from Agency 59 in ad design, The Kenilworth House in media relations, and Off The Cuff Marketing in Web development and hosting.
|
