Heroes of memes, PlayStation games and thousands of videos on TikTok, cats they are adored animals almost all over the world. And it’s almost because there is an island located a few kilometers from the North Pole where they are prohibited. A 1992 law forbids cats from living in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago where temperatures exceed -40 degrees Celsius.
According to local law, on the islands that are part of Svalbard, the presence of cats is prohibited . At that time, the authorities believed that it was very dangerous for cats to live on the islands. in connection with the spread of rabies and cystic echinococcosis present in foxes and rodents in the region. In recent years, cats they also pose a threat to some bird specieswhich makes it impossible to import them.
Although cats are banned in Svalbard, there is an exception to the rule. Kesha, a red cat who arrived in the city of Barentsburg. According to local residents, the original owners declared the cat to be a polar fox, so the authorities did not conduct a thorough check. Years later, knowing that this is a forbidden animal on the island, no one made any claims.
There is no place for cats in Svalbard, although there is one
The interesting thing about Kesh is not that she lived illegally in Svalbard, but that she had to endure the harsh climate and fights with local animals. No one knows what happened to its original owners as the cat chose to live in an abandoned house. Report big pictures indicates that Kesha stayed overnight in the young man’s house, but during the day she moved freely around the island and ate in the communal kitchen or in what tourists offered her.
Article published in Russia beyond mentions that Kesha was introduced to the Russians in the late 2000s.. No one knows for sure either his origin or age, although it is assumed that in 2020 he turned 12 years old. Russian newspaper TVNZ announced at the end of the same year that Kesha’s popularity soared during the pandemic. “A cat living on the edge of the earth inspired and supported people in difficult situations,” he commented.
Unfortunately, Kesha passed away at the beginning of 2021, and with him, the only evidence of a cat that lived for more than ten years on a forbidden island. Although there are reports of other cats inhabiting the Barentsburg, none have gained as much fame as this shaggy orange. Interestingly, Kesha violated not only the rule forbidding cats to live in Svalbard, but also that forbids dying on any of its islands.
Svalbard is not only famous for its anti-cat policy or for having an underground warehouse that stores thousands of seeds to save them in case of a global catastrophe. The archipelago also has a “don’t die” policy on its islands. The city of Longyearbyen is the largest forbids burying the dead, because the permafrost prevents the decomposition of corpses. It is possible that Kesha was cremated and his ashes are in an urn in the house of his last owners.
Not only Svalbard, Iceland, New Zealand and Australia do not want cats either
Although Reykjavik is known as a city where cats live comfortably, felines are not as popular in other parts of Iceland. Report NPR mentions that some cities will impose a curfew from 22:00. that will not allow cats to roam the streets. Egil Bjarnason, journalist from Hakai magazinementioned in an interview that the curfew was conceived from the idea forcing cat owners to keep them indoors at all times.
The measure, which animal protection organizations considered radical, had to be revised and the idea of imposing a curfew arose. Like Svalbard, cats pose a danger to seabirds as they attack chicks in their nests. Environmentalists are wondering if imposing a ban on free movement would have negative consequences. However, Bjarnason also points out that cats are considered annoying and people don’t want them in their backyard.
Complete ban and electrified fences
city New Zealand went further and proposed a ban on cats in 2018.. As in Iceland and Svalbard, the Omavi authorities assured that the fluffy threat to native birds, insects and reptiles. Officials demanded that her cat be spayed, microchipped and registered with government agencies. After his death, the owners could not get another cat.
In the same year, Australia took a more radical step and established 44 km electric fence in the wildlife sanctuary. The fence will protect endangered mammals threatened by the presence of wild cats, foxes and rabbits. This was announced by the administrator of the shelter Atticus Fleming. BBC that in this area alone there were 50 to 60 feral cats that ate about 70,000 local animals a year.
Although the reserve is the largest cat-free zone in Australia, the country has to deal with overpopulation of feral cats, which threatens the conservation of some species.
Source: Hiper Textual
