Feral Cat Mitigation Efforts: TNR and More With feral cats posing ecological and public health threats, many different techniques, reflecting a range of moral and ethical values, have been proposed and implemented. TNR is considered one of the most humane methods, but other methods that exist include euthanasia, trap and eradication, and more intensive versions of TNR that include vaccinations and rehabilitations. These methods vary in their effectiveness, practicality, cost and social acceptance. Additionally, differences in how people perceive animals and their intrinsic value, have made feral cat mitigation efforts an extremely charged topic for animal welfare advocates, policy makers, conservationists and pet owners. When analyzing methods, it’s important to evaluate what their goals are in terms of managing feral cat populations, state their ethical and moral perspective, and determine their effectiveness. Additionally, their impact on cat behavior will be explored using evidence from a variety of related studies, which will serve to assist in judging the effectivity of the population control method. The method for controlling feral cat populations that is focused on in this paper is TNR, which stands for Trap-Neuter-Release (though, for clarity, the term “neuter” refers to sterilization of both male and female cats). This method is extremely popular around the world due to the fact that it is considered extremely humane; rejecting the idea that healthy feral cats
Thesis: Addressing what a No Kill Shelter is and that they should have standards for using specific euthanasia methods, treating “unadoptable” animals, and evaluating the Live Release Rate will help decrease the unnecessary deaths of shelter animals around the world, especially with the help of shelter based programs.
In every town and city across the country, local humane societies and animal control systems has been relying on catching and killing feral outdoor cats to control their population. Over the last century in the United States, a program called Trap-Neuter-Return, or TNR, has been implemented. With this program, the cats are trapped, vaccinated, spayed or neutered, then returned to where they were found to live out their lives as feral cats. The program’s effectiveness has come in to question recently as feral cat colonies are still on the rise.
In “Taking Wildness in Hand: Rescuing Species”, by Michelle Nijhuis says, the common view alongside Apalachicola was the Torreya taxifolia but in the last century not knowing when the trees started to die. She says, that the only possible way for this species to survive was to move it to a cooler place like the north with less contaminated climes. Nijhuis says, how Printiss mentions that even though the species were to come alive again it can go through the perplexing blight which can cause the tree from their bases to resprout. She says, with intelligence, money, and enough space we can safeguard natural places however, us humans sometimes make things worst therefore, we have to keep a distance with nature. Nijhuis says, climate change isn’t
When Mary Ray of Woodbury, Minnesota unexpectedly passed away at her home during the winter of 2012, the last thing she would have expected was that her beloved perfectly healthy, young pet cat would be euthanized by the Woodbury Humane Society shelter instead of being sent to the home she had detailed in a note posted on her refrigerator. In retrospect, this would not have happened if the Woodbury Humane Society shelter had adopted the new and growing trend of “no-kill” philosophy for animal shelters, which simply stated, is an operating philosophy for a shelter that is based upon the premise that no healthy adoptable animal should be euthanized for any reason and that they should be sheltered until they find a loving home. The number of
(Charity Navigator, 2015, Charity rating) These numbers are a far cry from what Mr. Bergh told the Governor of New York when he paid a visit to the ASPCA and he stumbled over a hole in the old, tattered carpet and told Mr. Bergh to buy better carpet and send him the bill, Mr. Bergh simply replied, “No, thank you, Governor. But send me the money, and I will put it to better use for the animals. (as cited in Winograd, 2012, ¶3)” Moreover, for the last 15 years, the shelters, rescue groups, feral cat caretakers and No Kill proponents who have tried to restore Bergh’s vision through the No Kill revolution have been opposed by those like past ASPCA CEO Ed Sayres, supported by a Board of Directors content to count the money, all of whom appear intent on squandering Bergh’s noble legacy. When we look back on Mr. Berg’s life’s mission and what he wanted to accomplish and then look at the ASPCA today, one must wonder what happened? While it is not an easy task to undertake, we will take a look at animal “shelter”
A problem has grown among animal lovers. On one side are the traditional shelters that euthanize to make space for more animals. On the other side are those that call themselves “no kill”. They represent a rage of shelters from all over the country that won’t euthanize any animal on their property. No-Kill shelters are gaining popularity in the United States, According to one source, “More than 600 shelters and that’s just a fraction. The popularity has put pressure on the other shelters to become no-kill” (Fasseas). Now there are two different sides to the story, half of the people agrees upon euthanize animals for space and the other half agrees that there should not be any kill shelters here in this area or anywhere in the country.
When most people think about Animal Control shelters, it usually negative. Animal control shelters get an unjust reputation of just being a place where unwanted, problem dogs go to be euthanized. I mean, you call the your local animal control office when you see a stray dog hanging around the neighborhood, right? They show up in a van or truck driven by a uniformed officer who carries a scary looking pole with a loop on it to catch animals. Well, there’s more to your local animal control shelter than just catching stray dogs and cats.
There are 1.5 dogs and cats put to sleep every second & 4-6 million dogs and cats are euthanized every year, states the Humane Society. The pet overpopulation epidemic has become more than overwhelming. But who is at fault for the ever increasing number of homeless and euthanized pets each year? The public, government and breeders all have their hand in this catastrophic epidemic. So who is to blame for this
In the United States, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters every year. The overpopulation of these animals and the fact that they have no homes leads to about 40% of them being euthanized (ASPCA). This is a global issue, but the root of it can be found within the local community at The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley.
Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be
What is animal abuse? For starters, animal abuse is when a person inflicts suffering or harm on any animal. Most people, all over the world own an animal; but there are still far more animals left out on the street. Homeless animals are either left out on the streets or are “thrown” into shelters. This became a problem because not all animals are domesticated. Animal shelters began as pounds. “When the system began to be used to impound wandering dogs and cats, these animals were often killed because little monetary value was placed on them” (Lila Miller, Animal sheltering in the United States: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 1) . This issue persists because shelter workers and others truly believe that an animal life has no value, but that is not true; animals are living beings just like humans with brains, hearts, and bones. A reported case was that “authorities had seized 23 puppies, 11 cats, and four adult dogs from a self-processed animal “rescue” after they were found in the “rescuer’s” filthy home.” (‘No-Kill’ Label Slowly Killing Animals, 3). This means that an unauthorized person hoarded many animals and forced the animals into an unsafe “shelter”. The shelter being a dirty home.
Feral swine are a growing concern for managers across the United States as they cause damage to the environment, wildlife and livestock depredation, and are transmitters for disease. While both lethal and non-lethal strategies have been used to eliminate populations of feral swine, lethal approaches tend to work best, leading Dr. Snow and his team to develop a toxicant comprised of sodium nitrite to control this species. To integrate this toxicant into management practices, the product must pass four criteria set by the EPA: 1) create a stable bait source the target will consume; 2) have a 70% efficacy rate in the field and a 90% efficacy rate in captivity; 3) provide little evidence of secondary hazards; and 4) supply the toxicant in a reliable
Thesis/Preview: Today, I will discuss three types of cats based on their shelters or living conditions: the pet cat, the feral cat, and the pseudo-wildcat.
which inevitably destroy the habitats of wildlife. (6) and (7) give estimates which don’t make the argument cogent as it doesn’t sound plausible that outdoor cats are solely responsible for the 2.4 billion and 12.3 million deaths of animals, since 500 million – 1 billion birds die from infrastructure that are built by humans and from collisions of buildings, etc 3. which outdoor cats don’t play a part in. Also, from what we know, animals aren’t immortal and so die at some point of their lives and when the author says that his cat had given the 33 species of birds, an ugly, slow and painful death appears to come out of bias due to personal experiences and ‘subjective relativism’ because he was claiming something to be true through his own experiences of what he saw in front of his house every day,”…tattered offerings,…coagulated blood…the birds were disturbing”4. which probably led him to generalize the fact that all outdoor cats kill birds and give them painful deaths.
Pet owners have a wide variety of views about their responsibilities. Some feel that just providing food and water is enough and therefore do not provide a secure environment which is essential for all pets. Without this secure environment, a female in heat is a target for every male around. The males will go to great lengths to get to a female in heat. Her scent is a driving force. Some owners will allow their females to continue to come into heat over and over again, making her a target for every un-neutered male around, without trying to solve the problem. The males' owners will allow their animals to continue to roam freely because they feel they are not the responsible party to the unwanted pregnancies. Homes may be found for some of the offspring, some may die, and some may just wander off. Of those to survive, the breeding cycle can start all over again. Also, many owners do not realize that having a pet is a commitment for the life of the pet. When some owners get tired of their current pet, want a new pet, or get irritated because the pet does not meet their expectations, they will dump the pet thinking it will fend for itself or find a new home. Of the animals taken into shelters, 47% of the cats and 55% of the dogs are not spayed or neutered (Patelis).