Articles

Conservation Biology: Blaming & Killing Cats is Wrong/Unscientific

Proponents of cat slaughter try to legitimize the mass killing under the false mantel of “environmentalism.” There was a time when the environmental movement sought to protect animals and plants from chainsaws, traps, poisons, and guns. Fueled by biological xenophobia, it now uses those very things against animals and plants. Biologists, ecologists, and ethicists are calling out their own colleagues for launching a cruel, violent, dishonest, and I would argue criminal war on cats. They…

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The NY Times Becomes a Cheerleader for Animal Cruelty

I’m sorry for this photo. I really am. But this is from The New York Times which is cheerleading an Australian slaughter of up to 2,000,000 cats by peddling it as a scientifically-based public policy worth pursuing, dismissing the concerns of ethical people all over the world as misguided and “emotional.” They got it backwards. The piece, replete with photos of cats being gutted, includes the following celebration of killing: “Long after midnight, as the…

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Articles PETA

New Study: TNR Reduces Killing by Over 80%

A new study looked at cat impound and killing rates in six city pounds before and after the implementation of a program to sterilize and release community cats. The cities involved were Albuquerque, Baltimore, Columbus (GA), Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Tucson. Once again, the study adds to a growing body of literature that Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) works. In all: A median decline of 83% in cat killing occurred at the six shelters compared to baseline. The…

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Articles

The Year of the Cat

Part II of a series of 2018 animal news in review. Early in the new year, I’ll be doing a radio interview highlighting the biggest shelter animal stories and trends of 2018 and what the future holds for 2019. I’ll be talking about community cat programs and pitty parties, and a whole lot more. Details coming soon: Earlier, I posted that 2018 marked a tipping point when it comes to dogs we classify as “pit…

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Delaware Mandates Community Cat Sterilization

Delaware Gov. John Carney signs the cat bill into law. The State of Delaware has taken another step forward by protecting community cats and making community cat sterilization the preferred method of “animal control” throughout the state. This week, the Governor signed HB235 which mandates that “visibly healthy cats admitted to a shelter, not placed for adoption, and lacking discernible owner identification, are sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, ear-tipped, and returned to a safe location where…

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Articles

Ask Me Anything: Community Cat Edition

I get a lot of questions about animals on a wide variety of topics and I try to answer each and every one. When they have wider appeal, I’ll post my response. (If you would like to ask me anything, you can do so in the comments of my Facebook page or through the No Kill Advocacy Center, my organization.) This week, I was asked about the limits of community cat sterilization, specifically about cats…

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Articles

A Slaughter With No End

Seven years and $800,000 later, the City of Los Angeles continues to systematically put to death  community cats. In 2009, several anti-cat groups filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles in a bid to prevent community cats from being saved from death at the pound via sterilization. A Superior Court Judge ruled that City shelters were not to have any involvement with TNR, including the provision of spay/neuter vouchers, until they conducted an…

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Articles PETA

Demonizing Cats

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, ‘Cats smell, they are a nuisance, make too much noise, are a public health and rabies threat, transmit disease and parasites, including “roundworms, hookworms, and even plague,” and “terrorize and kill” 15 billion other animals a year.’ The only thing missing is a claim they are in league in witches. Why is PETA demonizing cats? They are trying to stop Camden County, NJ, officials from embracing…

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