AMAMI, Kagoshima Prefecture–While all citizens of Japan are provided a My Number Card, domestic cats on Amami-Oshima island will likewise quickly get a comparable “Maya Nyamber Card.”
But unlike human beings, the felines will not be getting the cards for social security and tax functions.
Instead, they will be provided by 5 community federal governments from April to safeguard uncommon wild animals on the World Natural Heritage website.
Intended for purified or neutered cats kept inside your home, the card is focused on motivating owners to take suitable care of their cats and avoid them from ending up being feral.
“By releasing the card, we wish to increase the variety of owners who keep their cats inside your home and speed up momentum to get rid of undesirable cats,” said Hiroyuki Hirata, chief of the area in charge of the World Natural Heritage classification at the Amami local government, who likewise functions as chairman of a council dealing with different cat-related issues.
Feral cats have actually long triggered difficulty on the island.
They take advantage of the Amami bunny, which is designated as an unique natural treasure by the main federal government, and other valuable types, triggering authorities to catch roaming felines.
The Maya Nyamber Card name is influenced by the Individual Number Card provided by the main federal government, typically referred to as My Number Card. While “my” is changed by “maya,” which indicates cats in the regional dialect, “nyamber” is a wordplay on “nyan,” which seems like the meowing of a cat.
The cat ID card will be provided by a council for cat-related concerns established by the community federal governments of Amami, Setouchi, Tatsugo, Yamato and Uken, each of which has its own regulation for properly raising domestic cats.
The card will bear the name and address of an animal cat, in addition to the color of its fur, an emergency situation contact number besides the owner and a picture.
The ID card will be provided on condition that the cat is signed up as needed by the regulation, it is implanted with a microchip consisting of recognition info, it is purified or neutered and it is kept inside your home at all times.
Applications are accepted at each community federal government for 1,000 yen ($7.50) each.
Perks provided by the towns consist of supplying cat owners with info on cat adoption and welcoming them for picture exhibits and other occasions, in addition to hosting a lottery game occasion when a year providing rewards.
To make the ID card much more helpful, the council prepares to obtain shop operators happy to work together in providing advantages.
Stray cats from metropolitan locations and free-range felines end up being feral while they reside in the mountains.
The towns are getting in touch with cat owners to take correct care of their animals.
While about 2,500 cats are signed up on the island, roughly 1,600 strays have actually been verified, according to the council.
More than 90 percent of domestic cats have actually been purified or neutered, while 73 percent are implanted with a microchip.
(Kazuaki Kanda is a stringer for The Asahi Shimbun based in Amami-Oshima island.)
