As is the case throughout Iceland, cat owners in Akureyri are required to register their feline companion with the municipality. However, in the so-called ‘capital of the North’ more than 2,200 cats have been microchipped, yet public record shows that only 170 cats have been registered, RÚV reports.
In response to the staggering illegal cat population, the town is sending letters to the owners of all non-registered cats urging them to file the appropriate paperwork post haste. Ragnheiður Gunnarsdóttir, who runs a local cat shelter, believes that the letters are not the way to go, as giving cat owners seven days to register their pet leads them to wonder “or then what?”
Stealth euthanasia of all unregistered cats under the shadow of night?
Mass cat-napping, and ransoming back of pets to owners that shell out the 7,500 ISK registration fee?
Immediate deportation of all ‘illegals’ for stealing honest jobs from good’ole, hard working Icelandic-born cats?
In fact, the town would follow-up with a second letter.
In addition to the one-time registration fee of 7,500 ISK, cat owners must also pay 6,000 ISK annually for an inspection fee that supports Akureyri’s animal control services. The annual fee would decrease if only more people would register their cats.
While cat owners of Akureyri may be cheap, it looks like cat owners in Reykjavík are just lazy. Just 3,500 of Reykjavík’s estimated 12,000 cats are registered. Registration in the capital is free of charge.
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