To tamp the population of stray cats, as many as 30,000 of the animals in Beijing have been spayed and neutered since 2006, thanks to a collaboration by the municipality, non-governmental organizations and veterinary hospitals.

From July 2006 through the end of last year, about 6 million yuan was spent on the trap-neuter-return (TNR) program, to counter a rapid increase in the number of stray cats in the capital and reduce diseases transmitted by feral animals.

The TNR program is partially funded by the local government with surgical help from the veterinary hospitals and the support of animal-welfare volunteers.

About 100 veterinary hospitals in Beijing under the Beijing Small Animal Veterinary Association offer a total 1,000 free neutering surgeries to cats monthly.

Stray cats have come to be considered part of Beijing's ecosystem. As more people feed them without considering the consequences, the number of stray cats has climbed. In turn, that increase has reduced the number of birds and mice, altering the capital's ecology.

The population of stray cats in Beijing is difficult to confirm, but it is estimated at 100,000 by the association, and 500,000 by some NGOs. All the parties dedicated to the improvement of animal welfare agree that there is still a long way to go in the neutering initiative.

Officials at Beautiful New World, an animal welfare NGO committed to the neutering and spaying of cats since 2005, said they couldn't arrange enough free surgeries for stray cats after residents complained about a surge of such critters in their communities.

"Sometimes, warmhearted people will help us, but we still face a financial gap of 30,000 yuan per year," Lang Jie, a team member at Beautiful New World, told METRO.

The 11-member group has neutered 8,000 cats in Beijing. It recently trapped about 10 cats in the Palace Museum and sent the animals to veterinary clinics for the surgery.

"We helped trap 50 cats in the Palace Museum last year; the improvement is so obvious," Lang said. "When we visited this year, the cats were healthier and even their hair was brighter."

Wei Haitao, director of the veterinary station under the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture, said veterinary hospitals cannot hope to get a fraction of the funds hospitals for humans get.

"Thus, NGOs need to keep in their mind that the free surgery must be performed on stray cats or cats whose owners really cannot afford it," Wei said.

He Yong, the special assistant to the Asia regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, believes the collaboration offers an effective mode for animal welfare in Beijing which can be copied in the management of other stray animals.