West Jakarta Food Security, Marine and Agriculture Office Provides Free Sterilisation for 200 Male Cats in Tamansari
The West Jakarta Food Security, Marine and Agriculture Office (Sudin KPKP) conducted the free sterilisation of 200 local male cats at the Tamansari District Office, West Jakarta, on Monday.
Tamansari District Head Simson Hutagalung stated that the activity was carried out as a humanised effort to control the cat population while simultaneously preventing the spread of diseases, including rabies.
“Today, the Tamansari District Government, in collaboration with Sudin KPKP, is performing sterilisation on 200 cats in the Tamansari District. The primary goal is to suppress the high rate of rabies,” said Simson on Monday.
According to him, the programme can reduce conflicts between the community and animals, particularly cats roaming in residential areas and public spaces.
“Furthermore, this programme can control the cat population, as the Jakarta Provincial Government is striving to manage the existing cat population in Jakarta humanely,” added Simson.
Tanti, Head of the Livestock and Animal Health Section of Sudin KPKP West Jakarta, said that the community had implemented the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method to capture stray cats.
“Last night, they attempted TNR, trapping stray cats around the Tamansari District, and successfully caught 30 cats,” Tanti noted.
She added that once the cats have undergone sterilisation and are declared recovered, they will be returned to their original habitats or locations.
“Once they have healed, they will be released back to their original habitat,” Tanti explained.
She explained that based on community reports and information, there are a significant number of stray cats roaming Tamansari, both male and female.
“For this session, we are capturing the males. For the females, we will return later to perform TNR,” Tally clarified.
“So, we capture them, then sterilise them elsewhere. Afterwards, they will be returned to their original habitat,” she continued.
She mentioned that the Tamansari District contains several locations that serve as hubs for stray cats, including areas around Jakarta’s Old Town (Kota Tua).
“Specifically in the Tamansari District, based on info from the KPKS team, they conducted a sweep last night around the Tamansari District Office, the museums in Kota Tua, and nearby sub-districts,” Tanti explained.
She revealed that the locations where stray cats congregate have been identified by communities that have been monitoring the field.
“They refer to them as ‘red zones’, and they know exactly where these red zones are located within the Tamansari District,” she added.
Nita, a local resident, expressed her happiness that the government is supporting citizens who care about animal welfare.
“I am very happy. Alhamdulillah, our government is starting to support residents who love animals,” Nita said.
She shared that the costs of cat care, particularly for sterilisation, vaccination, and medical treatment, are not cheap. She mentioned having previously spent around Rp2 million to treat a single female cat.
“I once spent Rp2 million on just one female cat. She had to be hospitalised after surgery, and the stay lasted more than a day, so there were additional costs,” Nita recounted.
To participate in the programme, she noted that one only needs to bring an ID card (KTP), register, and bring a cat that meets the programme’s requirements.
“The hope is that programmes like this (sterilisation) are conducted more frequently, for both male and female cats. And not just in West Jakarta, but everywhere—I hope it reaches Depok, Jakarta, and the surrounding areas,” Nita expressed.