Cats on a train! Japan railway lets felines roam to raise awareness of strays

[September 11, 2017]    OGAKI, Japan (Reuters) - A Japanese civic group teamed up with a railway operator on Sunday to let some 30 cats roam on a local train at an event, hoping it will raise awareness of the culling of stray cats.

A passenger plays with cats, in a train cat cafe, held on a local train to bring awareness to the culling of stray cats, in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, Japan September 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Passengers on a local train in Ogaki, in central Japan, were greeted by meowing companions on a moving train, where some passengers mingled with the felines while others enjoyed lunch.

"I think it's great more people are aware about stray kittens through events like this," said Mikiko Hayashi, a passenger from western Japan, who owns two cats that were strays. The event was hosted by Yoro Railway Co Ltd and a non-governmental organization called Kitten Cafe Sanctuary.

The number of cats in Japan admitted to shelters has dropped by around 70 percent to 72,624 in 2016 from 237,246 in 2004. That has reduced the number of cats culled from 238,929 in 2004 to 45,574 in 2016. The cat population in Japan is around 9.8 million.

(Reporting by Teppei Kasai; Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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