Friday, May 14, 2010
New Zealand is using leg-hold traps to catch feral cats
New Zealand, in my opinion, use some horrific methods to "control" so-called nuisance and feral animals. The latest is the use of leg-hold traps. Even the "soft-jaw" traps are still cruel. Its an open trap and the cat gets caught by one leg and then thrashes around for hours trying to free himself. Sometimes they try to bite off their leg in trying to get free. How this is seen in any way to be "humane" is totally beyond me.
"Peacock, a little stunned by it all, says feral cats are a real problem, that they use soft-jawed leg-traps and it is all part of a transparent and legal process. Callers ring in with their feral animal marketing slogans. Peacock says Tas has stopped using 1080 poison on possums. He says all CRC's need to have a commercial aspect to their operation.
"This is an accurate account - I was a bit stunned. We do support leg-hold trapping of cats using soft-jaw traps (as part of a management program, which it obviously was in this case); we don't employ people to soothe animal welfare concerns (I sit on two government working groups on animal welfare and our CRC has a policy not to undertake research where the welfare outcome can be predicted to be worse than currently available methods); and we don't hide our commercial members of the CRC - they are all appear on our website."
Killing feral animals does NOT solve the problem. A far better method is to TNR the cats--trap, neuter,return the cats to stop the breeding. Trapping random cats in this fashion, then killing them, if they are not already dead from blood loss after this horrific trapping, is just a stop-gap, lazy, quick-fix. Other cats left behind are going to continue to breed and they will continue to have a "feral cat problem"
I will be adding some addresses to this site for those compassionate people who want to voice their opinions that this is archaic and barbaric.
"Peacock, a little stunned by it all, says feral cats are a real problem, that they use soft-jawed leg-traps and it is all part of a transparent and legal process. Callers ring in with their feral animal marketing slogans. Peacock says Tas has stopped using 1080 poison on possums. He says all CRC's need to have a commercial aspect to their operation.
"This is an accurate account - I was a bit stunned. We do support leg-hold trapping of cats using soft-jaw traps (as part of a management program, which it obviously was in this case); we don't employ people to soothe animal welfare concerns (I sit on two government working groups on animal welfare and our CRC has a policy not to undertake research where the welfare outcome can be predicted to be worse than currently available methods); and we don't hide our commercial members of the CRC - they are all appear on our website."
Killing feral animals does NOT solve the problem. A far better method is to TNR the cats--trap, neuter,return the cats to stop the breeding. Trapping random cats in this fashion, then killing them, if they are not already dead from blood loss after this horrific trapping, is just a stop-gap, lazy, quick-fix. Other cats left behind are going to continue to breed and they will continue to have a "feral cat problem"
I will be adding some addresses to this site for those compassionate people who want to voice their opinions that this is archaic and barbaric.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
More on NOT feeding feral and stray cats
Director of Montgomery County Resource Center Mark Kumpf said leaving food out for the stray cats on the street is a bad idea. "Animals are not particular as to the food they eat," he said. "You may think the food you set out is going to be consumed by the stray cat, while wildlife such as a raccoon could be consuming the same food."
Mark, the former President of the National Animal Control Association, seemed to be pleased some time ago when he announced that NACA would support some TNR for feral cats. Alley Cat Rescue members sent him a ton of mail to request that he ask animal control agencies to stop feeding bans as they do nothing to deter colonies of cats, and in fact are quite cruel and inhumane.
He never responded to our members, as far as I know.
Now how can you “support” TNR and then tell people NOT to feed? Feeding is the start of trying to control stray and feral cats. You feed first, then, when the cats are in a regular feeding pattern, you start trapping to bring them in for spay/neuter/shots and you remove the tame cats and find homes for them.
Perhaps someone can tell me if they don’t find the stance of Mark Kumpf to be a little of an oxymoron?
Am I using the word in a wrong context here? Perhaps I am, but I don’t know what else to say when someone says "Yes lets TNR the cats, but DON’T feed."
Here is what someone had to say about an oxymoron:
“An oxymoron (plural oxymora or, more commonly, oxymorons) (noun) is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms (e.g. "deafening silence") to make a point. Oxymoron is a Greek term derived from oxy ("sharp") and moros ("dull" or "dumb" ), which means the word is an oxymoron. Another, similar oxymoron is sophomore, meaning "wise fool".
I don’t think I need to say more. This says it all for me!
Mark, the former President of the National Animal Control Association, seemed to be pleased some time ago when he announced that NACA would support some TNR for feral cats. Alley Cat Rescue members sent him a ton of mail to request that he ask animal control agencies to stop feeding bans as they do nothing to deter colonies of cats, and in fact are quite cruel and inhumane.
He never responded to our members, as far as I know.
Now how can you “support” TNR and then tell people NOT to feed? Feeding is the start of trying to control stray and feral cats. You feed first, then, when the cats are in a regular feeding pattern, you start trapping to bring them in for spay/neuter/shots and you remove the tame cats and find homes for them.
Perhaps someone can tell me if they don’t find the stance of Mark Kumpf to be a little of an oxymoron?
Am I using the word in a wrong context here? Perhaps I am, but I don’t know what else to say when someone says "Yes lets TNR the cats, but DON’T feed."
Here is what someone had to say about an oxymoron:
“An oxymoron (plural oxymora or, more commonly, oxymorons) (noun) is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms (e.g. "deafening silence") to make a point. Oxymoron is a Greek term derived from oxy ("sharp") and moros ("dull" or "dumb" ), which means the word is an oxymoron. Another, similar oxymoron is sophomore, meaning "wise fool".
I don’t think I need to say more. This says it all for me!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
To help solve the feral cat problem lets ban the feeding of cats.
BANNING THE FEEDING OF CATS
This is often the first thing authorities do when they are faced with a growing feral cat population. To me (endowed with just plain common sense) a compassionate person would NEVER say “just stop feeding the cats, they will go away and we won’t have a problem any longer.”
Well even if this were true (and it’s not) do they ever think "what is going to happen to these poor hapless cats when their food source is taken away?"
The cats will scrounge in our trash which, by the way, is everywhere----outside every store, every restaurant, every fast food place -----millions of places everywhere people throw out unwanted food, and the cats are smart enough to find it. Plus these rich food dumping grounds are huge attractions for pigeons and other birds plus rodents. Many cats are attracted to the rodents as well.
Now, cats can survive by becoming scavengers and they can catch rodents, but feeding them daily good nutritious food would be so much better for their health. The other way (scavenging) is often hit-or-miss for them and sometimes they go hungry, making them more susceptible to viruses and diseases. They will cross busy roads looking for food. Nevertheless they will still go on to breed more kittens. So in all honesty, banning feeding is not only NO solution, it is also cruel and inhumane.
Here is a sampling of the daily news about feral cat colonies and how to control them. And often the solutions just amaze one:
"Many of the domestic cats are dying because they're eating with the feral cats that are being fed," said Wiley. (Well if the cats are fixed and vaccinated and the domestic cats are fixed and vaccinated then there is little chance of disease and viruses and "dying" will not be happening. A well-fed MANAGED colony does NOT spread disease.)
"Fed, Wiley says, by people who set up feeding stations. More times than not at abandoned property sites. Mary says those setting out the food believe they're actually doing a good thing.
"It's not a malicious act," Wiley said.
Wiley admits to at one-time also being a "feral cat feeder." But that stopped, she says, when she found out the dangers. (So what happened to all the poor cats she stopped feeding?
At a feeding station like this one behind me, local residents say when the sun goes down, you're likely to see some 30, 40 cats here, with a host of other animals.
"They're eating with squirrels, rats, mice, skunks," said Wiley. (So what? Although at Alley Cat Rescue we do tell cat feeders NOT to put out too much food, and to pick up after the cats have eaten. But millions of people feed wild animals and birds, and anyway these animals ALSO eat from our garbage….ever go out on trash day and see all the birds eating from the trash?)
Fornario says the town hasn't yet decided what action to take, but is considering feeding bans and implementing a spay and neuter and release policy to try and control the growing number of feral cats.
(Well at least good to hear they are considering TNR, but how can you TNR without feeding?)
This is often the first thing authorities do when they are faced with a growing feral cat population. To me (endowed with just plain common sense) a compassionate person would NEVER say “just stop feeding the cats, they will go away and we won’t have a problem any longer.”
Well even if this were true (and it’s not) do they ever think "what is going to happen to these poor hapless cats when their food source is taken away?"
The cats will scrounge in our trash which, by the way, is everywhere----outside every store, every restaurant, every fast food place -----millions of places everywhere people throw out unwanted food, and the cats are smart enough to find it. Plus these rich food dumping grounds are huge attractions for pigeons and other birds plus rodents. Many cats are attracted to the rodents as well.
Now, cats can survive by becoming scavengers and they can catch rodents, but feeding them daily good nutritious food would be so much better for their health. The other way (scavenging) is often hit-or-miss for them and sometimes they go hungry, making them more susceptible to viruses and diseases. They will cross busy roads looking for food. Nevertheless they will still go on to breed more kittens. So in all honesty, banning feeding is not only NO solution, it is also cruel and inhumane.
Here is a sampling of the daily news about feral cat colonies and how to control them. And often the solutions just amaze one:
"Many of the domestic cats are dying because they're eating with the feral cats that are being fed," said Wiley. (Well if the cats are fixed and vaccinated and the domestic cats are fixed and vaccinated then there is little chance of disease and viruses and "dying" will not be happening. A well-fed MANAGED colony does NOT spread disease.)
"Fed, Wiley says, by people who set up feeding stations. More times than not at abandoned property sites. Mary says those setting out the food believe they're actually doing a good thing.
"It's not a malicious act," Wiley said.
Wiley admits to at one-time also being a "feral cat feeder." But that stopped, she says, when she found out the dangers. (So what happened to all the poor cats she stopped feeding?
At a feeding station like this one behind me, local residents say when the sun goes down, you're likely to see some 30, 40 cats here, with a host of other animals.
"They're eating with squirrels, rats, mice, skunks," said Wiley. (So what? Although at Alley Cat Rescue we do tell cat feeders NOT to put out too much food, and to pick up after the cats have eaten. But millions of people feed wild animals and birds, and anyway these animals ALSO eat from our garbage….ever go out on trash day and see all the birds eating from the trash?)
Fornario says the town hasn't yet decided what action to take, but is considering feeding bans and implementing a spay and neuter and release policy to try and control the growing number of feral cats.
(Well at least good to hear they are considering TNR, but how can you TNR without feeding?)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Cat Tales
I am starting to write a Weekly Blog for the first time! My name is Louise and I have been rescuing cats--stray and feral-- my whole life, although this past-time has escalated over the past 2 decades to becoming much of my life.
I am the co-founder of Alley Cat Allies and the Founder of Alley Cat Rescue. I work full-time for Alley Cat Rescue. We rescue stray, abandoned and owner-relinquished cats and provide them full medical care and find them new homes. ACR also promotes TNR-trap-neuter-return for feral cats. Providing feral cats with a better life is a mission for me, and we help people nationwide in the U.S. and internationally to find assistance for this compassionate work. Helping people who don't want the cat killed through our Cat Action Teams to give them the names of a low-cost vet clinic, where to find traps etc etc.
I have written many Fact Sheets on all aspects of helping feral cats and have also published an award-winning Feral Cat Hand Book, which I am in the process of updating.
ACR runs a weekly spay/neuter clinic for stray and feral cats at an animal clinic in the Brentwood/ Mount Rainer area of Maryland.
It has been a huge struggle to fight for feral cats. They are much-maligned and hated by many. Misinformation has been spread about cat predation, claims about bird predation are hugely exaggerated. Counties and towns want to hunt them and poison them. The so-called "experts" have done quite a job to the point where even otherwise sensible people start believing all the bad press.
They have become a scapegoat for the environmental movement ---blamed for the demise of wildlife and bird populations. I will be writing much more on this topic as I get going with this Blog!
For now this is my very first attempt. So I hope anyone who reads this will respond with their own stories and Cat Tales! I love all animals, so Cat Tales will not be the only topic discussed here.
I am the co-founder of Alley Cat Allies and the Founder of Alley Cat Rescue. I work full-time for Alley Cat Rescue. We rescue stray, abandoned and owner-relinquished cats and provide them full medical care and find them new homes. ACR also promotes TNR-trap-neuter-return for feral cats. Providing feral cats with a better life is a mission for me, and we help people nationwide in the U.S. and internationally to find assistance for this compassionate work. Helping people who don't want the cat killed through our Cat Action Teams to give them the names of a low-cost vet clinic, where to find traps etc etc.
I have written many Fact Sheets on all aspects of helping feral cats and have also published an award-winning Feral Cat Hand Book, which I am in the process of updating.
ACR runs a weekly spay/neuter clinic for stray and feral cats at an animal clinic in the Brentwood/ Mount Rainer area of Maryland.
It has been a huge struggle to fight for feral cats. They are much-maligned and hated by many. Misinformation has been spread about cat predation, claims about bird predation are hugely exaggerated. Counties and towns want to hunt them and poison them. The so-called "experts" have done quite a job to the point where even otherwise sensible people start believing all the bad press.
They have become a scapegoat for the environmental movement ---blamed for the demise of wildlife and bird populations. I will be writing much more on this topic as I get going with this Blog!
For now this is my very first attempt. So I hope anyone who reads this will respond with their own stories and Cat Tales! I love all animals, so Cat Tales will not be the only topic discussed here.
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