TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN: A NEW APPROACH FOR COMMUNITY CATS

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1 TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN: A NEW APPROACH FOR COMMUNITY CATS Will Gomaa, Attorney Virginia Beach Animal Control Advisory Board November 7, 2012

2 OVERVIEW About Alley Cat Allies Who are Community Cats? Why Trap-Neuter-Return? Trap-Neuter-Return in Other Jurisdictions

3 ALLEY CAT ALLIES Formed in 1990 as the only national organization dedicated to outdoor cats Nearly half-million supporters Individualized response to over 15,000 requests for help annually Advise individuals, organizations, and legislators on policy and programs

4 WHO ARE COMMUNITY CATS?

5 WHO ARE COMMUNITY CATS? Both Felis catus Different socialization to people

6 WHO ARE COMMUNITY CATS? Also known as feral cats Live outdoors Wary of people and tend to avoid us Not socialized to people Therefore not adoptable

7 COMMUNITY CATS ARE HEALTHY Peer-reviewed studies show that community cats live healthy lives Equally low rate of infection as compared to pet cats Extremely low incidence of debilitating conditions

8 COMMUNITY CATS ARE HEALTHY Equal or lower incidence of infection as pet cats FeLV FIV Coronavirus (FIPV & FECV) T. Gondii Total of 9 infections assessed Source: Luria et al, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2004)

9 COMMUNITY CATS ARE HEALTHY Feral cats in this study had similar or lower prevalence rates of infections than those published for pet cats in the United States. Thus, feral cats assessed in this study appear to be of no greater risk to human beings or other cats than pet cats. Source: Luria et al, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2004)

10 COMMUNITY CATS ARE HEALTHY Extremely low incidence of debilitating conditions From a study of over 100,000 spay/ neuter surgeries at 7 TNR programs: <0.5% cats debilitating conditions <0.5% cats fatal complications Similar pet cats & elective surgery Source: Wallace & Levy, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2006)

11 WHY TNR IS NEEDED High numbers of cats killed in pounds and shelters American humane ethic against unnecessary euthanasia Removing cats is not effective

12 CATS IN POUNDS AND SHELTERS

13 CATS AT VIRGINIA BEACH ANIMAL CONTROL 2011: 2067 of 3307 cats killed; 63% Much higher rate than dogs; 18% Known that many incoming cats feral Estimated at 40%, or 1322 If those cats were instead diverted to a TNR program, the euthanasia rate would drop to 23%.

14 AMERICAN HUMANE ETHIC An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that leaving a stray cat outside to live out his life is more humane than having him caught and put down. 81%: Leave the cat where it is 14%: Have the cat put down 5%: Don t know / Refused to answer Source: 2007 Alley Cat Allies Survey conducted by Harris

15 AMERICAN HUMANE ETHIC Feeding stray cats is widespread 22% in previous year 42% in lifetime Common to adopt a cat as a stray 34% of households obtained a household cat as a stray vs. only 16% adopting from shelter Source: 2007 Alley Cat Allies Survey conducted by Harris

16 THE VACUUM EFFECT

17 THE VACUUM EFFECT Mark Kumpf, former president NACA: [T]here s no department that I m aware of that has enough money in their budget to simply practice the old capture and euthanize policy; nature just keeps having more kittens [S]imply bailing the ocean with a thimble Animal Sheltering Magazine, September-October 2008, pp 8-9.

18 WHAT IS TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN? Method by which entire colonies of stray and feral cats are: Humanely trapped Neutered and vaccinated by a vet Eartipped (identified) Returned to their outdoor home

19 EARTIPPED CAT

20 WHY TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN Stabilizes community cat populations: Peer-reviewed studies, e.g: Long-term study over 11 years: 66% reduction (Univ. of Florida) Case-control over 2 years: minus 36% vs. plus 47% (NC State)

21 WHY TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN Improves cats lives: Eliminates behaviors and stresses of mating and pregnancy Neutering improves cat health Vaccinations

22 PUBLIC HEALTH AND RABIES No confirmed cases of cat - human transmission since mid-1970s Overwhelmingly a disease affecting Wildlife: 92% of current cases TNR programs include rabies vaccine Dr. Julie Levy: Even a single dose of rabies vaccination provides years of protection against rabies infection

23 WHY TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN Improves relations in community: No more kittens! Mating behaviors can be objectionable Solves community concerns Public health benefit

24 TNR AND COMMUNITY CONCERNS Mating behaviors and kittens cause many calls to animal control TNR addresses both Natural instinct of feral cats is avoidance Studies have indicated fewer calls to animal control about stray cats of following implementation of TNR Source: Hughes et al., Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (2002)

25 CATS AND BIRDS [T]here are few, if any studies apart from island ones that actually demonstrate that cats have reduced bird populations Fitzgerald, B.M. and Turner, D.C., Hunting Behaviour of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations, in The Domestic Cat: The biology of its behaviour, D.C. Turner and P.P.G. Bateson, Editors. 2000, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, U.K.; New York. p [T]here is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations U.K.-wide -Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

26 WHY TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN Improves shelter outcomes: Reduced unnecessary euthanasia Better staff morale Positive shelter programs

27 TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN PROGRAMS Trap-Neuter-Return is widespread: 350+ localities support or participate 275+ dedicated 501(c)(3)s Humane societies, spay/neuter clinics, caregivers

28 JACKSONVILLE, FL Feral Freedom adopted in August 2008 Significant reduction in intake from both strays and owner surrenders Owner surrender: ~2700 to ~700 Stray intake: ~10,800 to ~8300 Significant reduction euthanasia Euthanasia dropped to 30% from 70% Saving nearly 10,000 more cats/year

29 JACKSONVILLE, FL Other benefits: Employee morale Increased productivity Reduced worker compensation claims Reduction in shelter disease, URI

30 SAN JOSE, CA City promotes TNR to residents who call about stray or feral cats Feral cats may be brought in three days/week to city-run spay/neuter clinic Results: 20% reduction in cat intake over 2 yrs 40% reduction cat euthanasia Improved employee morale

31 FAIRFAX, CA County TNR program, ACOs do not trap outdoor cats for impoundment Eartipped cats redeemed from shelter processed as no-charge reclaim Results: sharp reduction in kitten intake -41% bottle-fed kittens entering shelter -58% feral kittens in foster program

32 ARLINGTON, VA Program adopted in 2010: Shelter staff/acos assist residents with TNR Eartipped cats trapped released as close as possible to trap site Feral cats out of shelter processed as RTO

33 ARLINGTON, VA Susan Sherman, COO at AAWL: I have been surprised that almost every resident who has complained about feral cats has chosen to participate in TNR once they understand it.

34 POLL Questions!

SHELTER SERIES. How to Support Trap-Neuter-Return in Your Community without Doing It All

SHELTER SERIES. How to Support Trap-Neuter-Return in Your Community without Doing It All SHELTER SERIES How to Support Trap-Neuter-Return in Your Community without Doing It All About Alley Cat Allies Alley Cat Allies is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to the protection and