Some Stats

I just been looking around, and stumbled upon some interesting facts, I'll try and make sense of them as i go along.
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq. mi)
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom)
Now, we need to know the rough guide to how many pets there are in the UK, and for this I'll base it entirely on cats and dogs only.
There are roughly About 10.3m cats and 10.5m dogs live in UK, that's 20.8 million just cats and dogs, not including any other species of pet.
(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/06/cat-and-dog-population-uk)

Now, given them facts, that would mean there is about 221 cats and dogs per square mile of land mass in the UK. The average pet needs, i would guess a minimum of half a square mile of territory, that's assuming there is no overlaps and territory disputes and assuming the very minimum if they were in the wild.
So in all theory, all our cats and dogs need 10.4 million square miles of territory, which is 110 times the size of the UK. Somehow, i don't think that's going to be feasible or practical, so something has to be done, otherwise the problem will get ever bigger and more desperate.

It gets better, i am even going compare just UK pets to USA land mass. First to find out what the USA land mass is.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) that is some huge land mass (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA), and here is where it gets interesting.
The UK land mass alone would fit into the USA 40.3 times. Even the USA, and this is not including their own animals as pets, or just the cats and dogs, the entire UK population of cats and dogs would fit into the USA 2.76 times.

There is no-one out there that can tell me there isn’t a problem in the UK regarding pets. Worst of all, we love our pets in the UK, and i feel it’s to a point we are loosing control of the pet population. The solution isn’t “lets just kill a few million and problem solved”…the solution is practical and responsible breeding, with lots of information and legal issues brought in by law.

It may come to the point the government have to step in to regulate it, or at very least oversee the control that it’s done legally and responsibly, and with the minimum of fuss and stress to the pets involved.
We all need to take that extra responsibility now, and see our pets as the companions they were meant to be, and not the commodity they are now. No more throw away pets, just because they don't match your curtains, stop being ignorant to that sort of attitude, and start being responsible.

Update for Council

Today was the day we served the council our update, i will enclose what i said to them in a later post, as soon as it has been acknowledged by the council. Don't worry, in case they say they never received it, we have 3 hard copies and unlimited digital copies, so there is no excuse for not receiving it.

Over the past few months, we have more or less been harassed by our local Housing officer, because she wants to “close the case”. I’m not interested what she wants, not what the council want, I'm looking after my family, that is that, and i will do what i have to do, in as long as it takes to do it., i wonder what they think of them apples.

Your all probably wondering what all this is about, your best bet is to read http://morethanyourjobsworth.blogspot.com/2011/01/eviction-for-having-four-cats.html , because this is what this blog is about. I know there are many other issues in the world that also have their own “more than your jobs worth”, and over time, I'm sure i can include a few, and aim to resolve them too.

If anything, i hate to see large corporations walk over the general public, just because they can, and now that the internet has taken off big time, we can all post our own stories, and make these companies aware how stupid they can be, and help to sack the individuals that are causing them problems.

I’m sure any company wants to be the best, and good at what they do, but to spoil it for the sake of 1 person, well, it deserves a swift and legal kick up the backside.

The Preparation

Today has, all be it boring, a day about preparing for the battle or battles ahead. Been to library and a few other places gathering the stuff i need, preparing the papers and getting ready to battle.
We may not win the war, but i wont go quietly, after all, it’s not about me, it’s about principal and standing up to the corporate war machine that is government.
Over the next few weeks, maybe months, hell, even years at a push, it will be decided weather or not we get kicked out for having 4 cats or not. If we are kicked out, then that will prove, beyond all measure, that the rules are wrong, and there are indeed just as stupid and irresponsible people to uphold them. You know the ones, the people that only want to achieve their targets, and not give a damn who gets hurt in the process, just so their boss gives them a pat on the back and a job well done.
On the other hand, if we win, or if there is a compromise, then all is well, and that will prove that councils can and do listen, and that they can be reasonable. It will prove, beyond all measure, that there are decent. respectful people, even in jobs with a lot of pressure, and maybe their bosses on their back to preform and get targets, but they still have a morale duty to the law abiding citizens, and appreciate the way things are or have been.
Either way, it’s going to be big, and hopefully it will end amicably, with as little pressure as possible.

Last few days

Well, to be honest, i have been running around, asking loads of people what their opinions are about our predicament, and a lot of sources have came to light.

First of all, i have contacted all the major TV channels, not that i expect anything they can help with, but hopefully they can at least highlight the underlying problem, and if this matter is a UK wide problem, then it certainly needs addressing, and possibly the law changed to accommodate it.

I know we are not alone in this dispute, there are many others that could be involved, and many more that it will affect according to their tenancy agreements across the entire UK.

We have also contacted a few national newspapers with the same facts, again we await their reply. Since the local paper isn’t interested, perhaps the national ones will be more investigative, and delve deeper into the story.

Also, contacted our local MP, we feel he needs to know, even if there is nothing he can do, then at least he is aware of the problem and can address it as he needs to.

Other than that, i have dug up some legal and law regarding contracts, and will forward this on to the council by Tuesday latest. I got a ton of information to sort out and put into a semi decent report.

The Underlying problem

So far, all i have done is what a majority of people would call whinging, it’s just another person with another problem, but where do i get it all from?

I’m going to try and explain the underlying problem i can see, which is one the entire UK should be facing, and one that is pretty much ignored, because it’s only to do with pets.

The problem is breeding. That’s right, just plain and simple facts of life, and it all starts there. Not just the types of animal, and select breeds, but generally, anyone in the UK can breed cats or dogs, or i guess any animal within the confines of their home. This needs to stop, and needs regulating.

This is something i find quite disturbing, not because anyone can get away with it, but because the consequences of taking no action to resolve this will be far greater than it is now.

Lets look at some statistics. On average, a health pair of breeding cats will have 5 or 6 litters a year, each litter again about 5 or 6, maybe more. Over a lifetime of the cats, they could produce about 5000 or 6000 cats, and that’s just 2 cats. Now imagine the current state of the UK pet population, on average i would guess it will double within 5 to 10 years, if not sooner.  So my question is…where are all these pets going?

Sure enough, pets do die naturally, and through many other means, but also a lot are being killed of, simply because some animal charities are so overwhelmed that they don't have a choice but to put them to sleep. The worst thing of all, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Or is there?

My solution is more or less simple in theory, as for practice, that’s something else. Anyway, the solution is…Controlled breeders. This can be achieved by making the most of some animal charities and use them as breeders, in a controlled environment, and with a licence. The building are pretty much already in place, it just needs an organisation to take control, and be the select breeder of pets.

How would this solve the problem? Simple, anyone not licenced to breed, should face fines and so on, depending on the severity or the continuous breach without licence. We must all be educated that we can no longer see a cat or dog merely as a commodity, nor as a celebrity pet, they are not toys.

The selected breeders would be able to inform the public and raise awareness of responsibility of a pet, plus, as it would be regulated, it would control any form of animal diseases, and also help protect local wildlife. Not only that, it would help put an end to abandoned pets, and cruelty, since in today’s society and technology, we can now microchip our pets, for identity purposes, so anyone caught can be brought to justice.

Select breeders would solve a lot of problems, and also solve the amount of pets that will probably get put down because they not wanted, and ultimately, this leads to my problem, as the breeders could send someone to our place, asses weather it suitable, and provide a pet as need be, and in accordance with the local authority ruling. So therefore it wouldn’t cause any stress or legal battles.

Phone call

Today, we had another phone call from our local housing office, and guess what, they are asking us to phone around the cat charities to see if there is any homes there for 2 of our cats.


I know the council are lazy, but doing thier dirty work for them, that's kind of ironic, don't you think? Perhaps i should charge them for the phone calls and food, litter and meds for the cats too. Since we are, in all efect, looking after them untill they get re-homed.

What's worse is, my mum, now has dementia, she don't know who i am, or anything much. I am in a lot of stress and this is not helping my depression one little bit. As if i haven't got enough to worry about, now i got to run round after the council.

What also gets to me is, they told me " your not in any trouble", well duhhh, if we not in trouble, what's the mystery. Also, they have aparently told many other households in Blackpool the same thing, and even told a woman, disabled and alone that she had to give up her dog. To me i found that sickening and very disapointing of a council that supposed to care.

Still, this issue continues, and will continue for a long long time yet, or untill our cats get a decent and loving home.

Eviction for having four cats

For the last 7, nearly 8 years, we have had 4 cats. Just recently, July 2010, we were abruptly told to remove them or face eviction. Here is the full story( it is rather long, so if you don't feel like reading it, then i understand ) :

In 2002 I moved into a new place in Blackpool, at the time, it was council owned, and there was no problems. A few weeks into my tenancy, I got 2 cats. I immediately went to the local office to inform them that I had indeed obtained 2 cats, and was it allowed in my tenancy agreement. The counter staff at that time reassured me that it was allowed and was OK providing they were informed, in which I was doing, so they were happy with that. I was happy with that too, so I continued as normal.

A year later, in 2003, my partner moved in with me, and we met some of the neighbours in our block. Our neighbours had 2 cats as well, but a smaller property. In due course, their cats had kittens, and so 8 weeks later, they were running around trying to re-home them. We were delighted at the sight of 2 kittens, and so we took 2 kittens off their hands. Both myself and the neighbour went to the local housing office to inform them of the situation and to ask permissions. Again, myself and my neighbour were reassured that it was allowed, and permissions were given by the counter staff.

At no point, either before, during or after signing the original tenancy agreement, were we told or reminded we had to have this permissions in writing, nor were we shown the exact ruling the council used at that time, or after. So since 2003, we assumed that we had full permissions to have 4 cats, and we were happy. At no stage were we consulted as to weather we had all female cats, and that we do not plan to have any other animals in this property. Nor did anyone bother to inquire that our cats are fully neutered and couldn't have kittens even if they wanted to. Nor did anyone consider that we have no plans to get any more cats after our current ones pass away.

Anyway, between that point and mid November 2009, I had to go into a different accommodation, to help with my depression. This involved social services and other medical professionals, in fact probably involved a load of folk I never even heard of. As part of this rehab type thing, I had to be removed of the tenancy agreement, because you can't have 2 tenancies at the same time.

My partner had to sign a new tenancy. This new tangency was with the all new Blackpool Coastal Housing. I was there when she signed it, and I swear down now, at no point was my partner shown or explained the rules of the tenancy. All they wanted was for her to sign it, without looking at it or understanding it. It was as if she was signing under duress. I was basically told to be quiet, because it was my partner that was signing it, not me. So even I didn't have that option. Even in the months leading up to this, social services knew we had 4 cats, and it wasn't a problem then either.

While I was in care, it was getting more and more evident, that there was no support for my partner, and I got frustrated. I got even more frustrated that my medications were being messed with, so I had a few disagreements. Finally in December I left, I had enough of the place, plus it wasn't helping me one little bit. They got annoyed that I so called "bribed" them into getting my meds back, but I wasn't there for medication review, I was there to get help. However, since December 2009 and July 2010, nothing was said, and as far as I’m concerned everything was back to normal. That was, until someone from Blackpool coastal Housing sent a letter saying..we want to come round to inspect the property. I never seen that before, and apparently they do this every year, so we let them come round, just out of curiosity if nothing else.

That was when the sparks fly, they came bursting in, and immediately picked up that we had 4 cats, and barked lout orders, in no uncertain terms " get rid of the cats or face eviction". As you could imagine, I went ballistic, I was in no way going to tolerate that sort of attitude from anyone..I don't care who they work for. There were a few other issues that needed addressing, which we have solved, that was the easy bit, but to come into my domain and tell us to remove our cats..I was having none of it. So I went to the local office, and I created an argument of my own, I returned the favour They didn't like it, so how do they expect me to like it.

After a few letters here and there, we had to put into writing that we want permissions to have 4 cats, so we did, and it was refused. I heard some pretty good excuses in my time, but the best ones were to come, including “ it's got a shared entrance” and “ too small”. In a few weeks we eventually agreed to 2 cats, and I put that in writing, and that was approved. So, we are at a crossroads now, where to re-home 2 cats, especially in a society that has far too many cats and dogs, even the animal charities are overwhelmed, to bursting. I had 1 place told me that if the council seen their place..it would be shut down due to overcapacity. That shows you the state of things.

Best of all though, I contacted the Blackpool Gazette, the local newspaper, as I thought it would be a nice story for them, plus to show my anger, and all they said was “is it in the tenancy agreement”...I replied yes, because we had been shown it after someone came round and explained it. They said they would send a reporter round...not heard from them at all. I thought it would make a nice story, since I’m not the only one affected by this issue in the whole of Blackpool, or if I am, then that's a whole new ball game altogether. It's as if the newspaper is bias towards the council, which would explain the response I got from a phone call about 3 days earlier, in which I was told “good luck” by a council employee, when I said I was going to the newspaper.

So what are we supposed to do? Personally, I think this is a load of bollocks, the economy is in crisis and all Blackpool Coastal Housing are worried about is if I got 4 cats or not. Someone needs to get their priorities right.

If anyone can help...especially in full English Law, weather there is anything I can do legally, then please contact me.

You may love or hate any animals ... but lets put it this way, some people, me included, love their animals, and do take care of them, sometimes better than myself, they are treated as one of the family. My question is this...what would you do if someone tried to take away your child or pets...without a genuine or reasonable excuse? That I leave to you.

Disclaimer:

Under no circumstances am I, or anyone else suggesting or claiming that Blackpool Coastal Housing is good or bad, right or wrong, I am only giving the correct and true facts that actually happened to me and my partner in this case, weather it's ongoing or not.

Welcome

First of all, before i get on my high horse and start exposing the complete noobs and down right idiotic people that are supposed to help and not make life harder, i would like to welcome you all to this blog.

This blog isn't much to look at really, but my aim is primarily to give you, the adoring public, a sence of what is really going on, and should the time come, to show you that today's society rules are just rediculous as the people that enforce them.

I know i'm not alone, but there is a fine line between what is right, what is wrong. The problem is, that grey area in the middle, where not even the courts know the difference, because no-one has a bloody clue what to do. It's also that grey area, where common sence and values don't count, because even the law can't work out what to do, as no-one has been criminalised for it.

It just seems to me, that the grey area is getting wider and wider, where even the most established rules are being put there, this is a deliberate attempt to confuse us all, as if we are not confused already. It all just adds up to a point of..." can someone be sued because of this rule?" if not..put that rule in the grey area, we'll come back to it.

Anyway, enough of my techno babble, over the coming weeks, months...hell, even years, i have no doubt this could go on and on for all time, i shall aim to give you all the updates from my part of the world...Blackpool.