Jockey Club and Anima launch cat adoption initiative following public outcry

The Macau Jockey Club, in collaboration with Anima Macau, hosted a cat adoption event yesterday after canceling plans to relocate nearly 100 stray cats from the racecourse to Zhuhai following public backlash.

The event aimed to find suitable homes for the remaining cats, with animal welfare as the top priority, amid broader concerns about the city’s stray animal policies.

The adoption event, held at the former racecourse from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., allowed members of the public to adopt nearly 30 cats, while 60 others were already placed with animal protection groups.

Anima announced the event on its social media on Saturday evening, detailing procedures and requirements for potential adopters.

The Jockey Club’s initial plan to relocate the cats to Zhuhai sparked significant controversy, drawing criticism from former workers, volunteers, and the wider community.

Isabel Cheang, a former employee who helped care for the cats, expressed serious concerns about the lack of transparency.

“There is absolutely no supervision. We are worried about them. They were reluctant to announce it until the end,” Cheang said in a TDM report.

“So we had no choice but to tell the public about the matter. I cannot watch the cats die. In today’s transparent information age, the best way to address concerns is to be transparent, which stops rumors. However, they could not even do this. The more they cover up the matter, the more people will doubt them.”

Another former worker advocated for local adoption, stating, “Other former workers have sent photos to me saying they are looking for people to adopt cats at the Macau Jockey Club. It’s best that someone adopt the cats locally. There is too little protection for them if they are sent to the mainland.”

Responding to the controversy, the Jockey Club released a statement confirming it had reached a consensus with Anima to co-organize the adoption event. Anima’s executive president, Zoe Tang, had previously expressed disappointment with the initial relocation plan, calling it “Greyhound Story 2.0” and emphasizing the need for a more humane approach.

“It’s very disappointing because it’s just like ‘Greyhound Story 2.0’, you know,” Tang said in a TDM report. “We are trying to give it a chance because we have received a call from Miss Mary Yung, and she is willing to have a place to temporarily house the cats in her area first, and some organizations can help later to rehome them, either individually or in groups.”

Lawmaker Ron Lam described the situation as the “tip of the iceberg” of a larger problem, calling for the implementation of the trap-neuter-return (TNR) practice instead of the current trap-neuter-adopt (TNA) approach.

“We have been stressing that the stray animal problem in Macau exists because the SAR government still does not have a comprehensive policy for it,” Lam said.

“The TNA practice, which is currently implemented, does not help resolve the issue in the long run. It cannot effectively suppress the number of stray animals on the streets. Therefore, we always say that the government must adopt TNR. Adoption alone cannot solve the problem—it merely covers it up.”

The Jockey Club maintained in its statement that it had been working closely with the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) since announcing its closure, submitting monthly reports and ensuring a healthy environment for the cats.

However, previous adoption attempts faced challenges, with some cats struggling to adapt to home environments, resulting in failed adoptions.

At yesterday’s event, interested adopters were required to be over 18 years old and bring valid identification documents, proof of address, and photos of their homes’ windows showing installed screens.

These measures were implemented to ensure the cats’ safety and welfare. The IAM also set up a service counter at the event to assist with ownership registration changes for adopted cats.

IAM issued a statement yesterday that 22 cats had already been adopted by the end of the day. Victoria Chan