Fighting efforts to spay/neuter outdoor cats is the wrong way to protect wildlife.
September 12th, 2008 by admin
This week the Seminole Herald reported on efforts in Seminole County to establish a trap, neuter, vaccinate and release (TNVR) program for feral cats. According to the paper, a group of local residents calling themselves Friends of Feral Animals, “have asked to be in charge of handling all feral cat calls and to manage cat colonies in the county.” In many communities across the country, including Florida’s Orange County, TNVR has been shown to reduce feral cat populations over time.
Unfortunately, The Seminole Audubon Society has announced its opposition to the proposal. The society sent a letter to the county alleging that “Birds constitute approximately 20 to 30 percent of the prey of feral and free-ranging domestic cats.” We agree that the impact of feral cats on other wildlife is a real concern, but in opposing TNVR they suggest that the program would somehow increase the threat to wildlife. Currently in Seminole County, animal services officers will attempt to capture a feral cat only in response to a nuisance complaint. There is no organized effort to kill feral cats. Seminole County Animal Services does not have the resources to set live-traps, visit the traps daily, etc., and there certainly are not volunteers willing to trap cats and send them to their deaths. Opponents of TNVR are in effect arguing for the status quo to continue: the small number of feral cats who end up at animal services will be killed, but the larger population of feral cats in the county will be ignored.
We believe TNVR is a better, realistic alternative. There are people in Seminole County willing to volunteer their time to trap and spay/neuter cats. When cats are sterilized, their numbers- and any negative impact on native wildlife- will decline. Who could argue with that?
Please express your support of TNVR to the county. Contact:
Morgan Woodward, Manager, Seminole County’s Animal Services
E-mail: mwoodward@seminolecountyfl.govSeminole County Board of County Commissioners.
E-mail: deswine@seminolecountyfl.gov