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Community Cats and Trap/Neuter/Return

Community Cats and Trap/Neuter/Return. SPEAKER’S NAME CREDENTIALS ORGANIZATION AFFILIATION (If Applicable) CONTACT INFORMATION Phone E-mail. INSERT A PICTURE OF THE SPEAKER HERE. Free-Roaming Cat Dynamics. Ownership status Owned Unowned Lifestyle Indoor only Free-roaming outdoor

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Community Cats and Trap/Neuter/Return

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  1. Community Cats and Trap/Neuter/Return

  2. SPEAKER’S NAME • CREDENTIALS • ORGANIZATION AFFILIATION (If Applicable) • CONTACT INFORMATION • Phone • E-mail INSERT A PICTURE OF THE SPEAKER HERE

  3. Free-Roaming Cat Dynamics • Ownership status • Owned • Unowned • Lifestyle • Indoor only • Free-roaming outdoor • Free-roaming unowned • Socialization status • Friendly • Unsocialized • Continuum • Move from one lifestyle to another

  4. Community/Free-Roaming Cats • Exist in all types of environments • May impact: • Public health • Environment • Cat welfare • 7% to 26% of U.S. households feedcommunity cats* *American Association of Feline Practitioners

  5. Control Methodology • Community cats are often deemed unadoptable and killed in shelters • Community cats produce the majority of kittens entering shelters • Lethal control, used for decades, is the primary method employed

  6. Trap and Kill Ineffective Fails to curtail population growth Costly Leads to compassion fatigue: High employee turnover in shelters Taints public image Publicly unpalatable

  7. Philosophical Shift in Animal Control “The cost for picking up and simply euthanizing and disposing of animals is horrendous, in both the philosophical and the economic sense.” (Mark Kumpf, President, National Animal Control Association, 2010)

  8. Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR)

  9. TNR:A Comprehensive Management Plan • Humanely trapped • Spayed/neutered • Ear-tipped • Vaccinated • Returned to the original habitat • Non-lethal deterrents recommended

  10. What? You Return Them?

  11. Benefits of TNR • Reduces shelter admissions and euthanasia rates • Improves public health • Provides access to grant funding and volunteer participation • Decreases nuisance complaints

  12. TNR SuccessesJacksonville, Florida: Feral Freedom • Net savings: 2007-2010 • $160,000 • 13,000 lives • Decrease in feline nuisance complaints • 31% decrease in feline shelter admissions: • FY06-07 13,455 • FY09-10 10,302

  13. Jacksonville: Feral Freedom

  14. Salt Lake City: Feral Fix • SLC Feral Fix Program (launched in 2008) • 2008-2010: SLC improved its save rate by 40.4% Result: overall cost savings of more than $65,000 • 2008-2010: Utah save rate only improved 4.7% • In 2010, SLC realized a 21.8% decrease in shelter cat intake from 2009 • No increase in feline nuisance complaints

  15. Other Examples • Maricopa County, Arizona: cost per cat • $61 to trap, hold and euthanize • $23 to TNR • Indianapolis, Indiana: cost per cat • $130 to trap, hold and euthanize (national average) • $20 to TNR (IndyFeral)

  16. Utah Community Cat Act§11-46-303 The Community Cat Act gives cities the freedom to release cats immediately for TNR

  17. Hazards of Feeding Bans • Impossible to enforce • Starving cats continue to breed • Desperate cats move closer to homes • Malnourished cats are more susceptible to illness and parasites • Other food sources are available

  18. Problems with Cat Licensing • Difficult to enforce • May increase shelter admissions: • If too costly, people relinquish cats • Hard to market for indoor-only cats • TNR implications: • Cost-prohibitive • Cats are not “owned”

  19. Hazards of Pet Limits • Negatively impacts responsible pet owners • Difficult and costly to enforce • Fails to prevent hoarding situations • Limits are arbitrary

  20. Cats Are Not the Primary Threat to Birds • “By far the largest threat to birds is loss and/or degradation of habitat” • Human development • Agriculture • Chemical toxins • Direct exploitation: • Hunting • Capturing birds for pets Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Threats to Native Birds www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/conservation/planning/threats

  21. Liability • Unsocialized cats tend to avoid people, thus minimizing likelihood of contact • Community cats are vaccinated against rabies • Liability results from negligence A municipality’s involvement in TNR for the purpose of reducing free-roaming cat populations, protecting public health (through mandatory rabies vaccinations), and resolving nuisance complaints is NOT negligence

  22. Advantages of Adopting a TNR Ordinance • Promotes community involvement • Establishes reasonable standards • Defines duties • Encourages caregiver cooperation • Gains caregiver trust

  23. Effective Public Policy • Must consider the human dimension • No solution works in every area • Need creative, integrated programs • Must be cost-effective • TNR (for maximum effect) • Caregiver trust/cooperation • Adoption

  24. Existing Resources in (insert name of city/town/or county) Compile a list of all resources available to support TNR of free-roaming cats: • Funding • Existing programs • Volunteers • Cooperative agreements • Etc.

  25. Ask them for what you want • Be clear and concise • Do you want: Money? If so, how much? Bans lifted? TNR ordinance adopted?

  26. Thank you!

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