This Israeli politician wants to deport stray cats to a foreign country

Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel has a plan for the country's feral cat problem: mass deportation.

Ariel, who is a member of the far-right Jewish Home party, drew ridicule from opposition politicians after his proposal to "transfer dogs and cats of a single gender... to a foreign country that is willing to accept them" was leaked by Israeli media.

Former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni tweeted a photo of her cat, wryly commenting that her pet would not be applying for a foreign passport. Meanwhile, Zehava Gal-On, chairperson of the left-wing party Meretz, suggested on Facebook that "it is time to look for a foreign country that would agree to absorb [Ariel]."

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The ministry's current efforts to contain the stray animal population involve spaying and neutering, a method that Ariel opposes on the grounds that it violates Jewish law. The ministry said in a statement that Ariel's proposal had been considered and rejected.