Stop the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Planned War on Feral Cats

On November 5, 2011, U.S. Fish & Wildlife personnel will be offering an all-day workshop at the Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Waikoloa, Hawaii, entitled “Influencing Local Scale Feral Cat Trap-Neuter-Release Decisions.” This workshop is supposedly designed specifically for the purpose of training “conservation activists” to protest TNR efforts during the decision-making process.The workshop will include “a public meeting role playing activity and opportunity for participants to debrief and design local strategies” to discourage elected officials from adopting TNR programs. Other tools (videos, photos, FAQ sheets, model municipal ordinances, etc.) will also be provided to further assist attendees in their future efforts to undermine non-lethal strategies used to address free-roaming cat populations.Attendees will most likely not be shown statistics that has been gathered from towns and cities that use TNR, proving that it works and saves cats lives and taxpayer's dollars.Attendees will most likely not be presented with any other feasible alternative to TNR, but rather be encouraged to continue the non-cost efficient, inhumane method of trapping and killing feral cats.There will likely be no discussion of how TNR naturally reduces the feral cat population in feral free roaming cat populations over time by natural process of death of older cats and no breeding and kittens being born thus reducing the population of feral cats which would also reduce any possible predation to wildlife.The organizers will likely not pinpoint a funding source for the recommended proposal of a trap and kill plan, while ignoring and rejecting humane alternatives to wildlife conflicts such as trap, neuter and release.Its time for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change its mission and promote humane, non-lethal solutions to wildlife concerns.Federal dollars should not be used for the purpose of eradicating feral cats. U.S. Fish & Wildlife should pursue non-lethal solutions to wildlife concerns Including TNR. U.S. Fish & Wildlife should stop ignoring the facts that prove TNR is effective.