The government has decided to keep animal welfare under the authority of the Agriculture Ministry, as a ministerial committee recommended.
The decision comes following strong criticism against Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home), who proposed deporting feral cats instead of neutering them.
The committee also called for a number of steps, including increasing the number of organizations focused on treating animals, demanding reports on their actions, limiting the resources needed, expanding legal regulation, enforcing and punishing violators, and providing means to monitor and control programs.