Feral Cats in the Crosshairs

A potential re-classification of feral cats in New Jersey could put an end to Trap Neuter Release programs and allow hunters to take aim instead.

Jeannette Vreeland, acting chair of the Fish and Game Council is one of the advocates that wants to add cats to the list of animals that can be hunted. "It's really not a natural, native animal. They're exotic and not meant to be outdoors." She's not the only one who isn't in the feral cat fan club. Wildlife advocates, particularly bird enthusiasts, worry about the death toll ferals cause among other species.

But feral cats also have a core of dedicated defenders. Among them are the animal activists in New Jersey who say that since cats are domestic animals, the Fish and Game Council has no right to regulate them. Feral cat populations left unchecked can be a problem, but that doesn't meant shooting them is a reasonable solution. Especially not since a recent study by Best Friends Animal Society found that TNR is not only advantageous for the cats, but it saves tax payers money ... and it works.

The study — which took place across four states, 12 cities and 13 counties — found that trapping and killing cats (the solution generally suggested by anti-TNR groups) costs about $16 billion a year. If communities worked together to create discounted TNR programs, it would only cost taxpayers about $7 billion a year.

Anti-TNR groups question the effectiveness of the programs, but the reliable data out there to support either end of the argument is slim. John Dunham, president and managing partner of the New York based economic research firm that worked with Best Friends on the study, said, “I can find out more details on how much celery is grown in every part of this country than I can find on feral cats.”

There are certainly plenty of examples of poorly managed feral cat colonies, but TNR is more than just trapping, neutering, and releasing. There's an education component to encourage people to keep their cats indoors and teach them how to manage feral cats. The cat population needs to be monitored for newcomers, and properly cared for to minimize the impact on wildlife. This may mean moving the cats away from sensitive bird populations and, sometimes, relocating to an enclosed sanctuary. It takes commitment, but the city of San Diego has proven that it can be done.

San Diego made a commitment to move toward becoming a no-kill community about two decades ago. The Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego kicked their efforts into high gear in the early 1990s and, since then, they've witnessed a 50 percent decrease in the feral cat population by doing things the humane way through TNR.

Even if you're still not convinced that TNR is the best solution, I would hope we could at least agree that shooting cats ranks among the worst. Bullets may be cheaper than setting traps and euthanizing cats, but that doesn't mean it's effective. Feral cats tend to be wary of people and they're not likely to sit around waiting to be shot. If you do have a cat calmly standing in your crosshairs, you're probably about to shoot someone's pet. Since cats aren't an easy target, it means that you're likely to either: 1) injure but not kill the cat, leaving the animal to suffer a slow death, or 2) shoot your neighbor, which is exactly what happened a few years ago in Wisconsin shortly after a politician proposed open season on ferals.

While it's true that they're not native wildlife, feral cats have a 10,000 year history with human civilization, and controlling them isn't likely to have a quick and easy solution. There's a right way and a wrong way to run a TNR program, and investing in making it work is the morally and financially responsible thing to do.

Photo credit: lincoln-log