- Target:
- Karen J McGranahan
- Region:
- United States of America
Killing feral cats simply does not solve the problem of overpopulation of feral cats. Eradication methods have had little success; it is a failed policy because the ecological vacuum created is soon filled by intact strays that continue the breeding cycle.
Many cities such as San Diego, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Texas, and Florida have made great strides in reducing their feral cat population by utilizing TNR. Furthermore a managed care program, coupled with a TNR program, is less expensive in the long run and more successful then simply trap and kill.
Feral cats are very territorial and, by sterilizing the colony, the number of cats decrease through natural attrition simply because they cannot reproduce. Feral cats are a community problem and are just as much the victims of human neglect, ignorance and greed. Trap and kill is a failed policy; Horry County needs a new approach. A managed, humane solution exists to solve the problem of feral cats; TNR works and has been proven successful.
Horry County needs to take the first step: implement a TNR Program.
We, the undersigned, call on Horry County Council, to implement a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Program and to no longer accept feral cats and kittens into the Horry County Animal Control Shelter strictly to be euthanized using taxpayer money.
Horry County Council recognizes that feral cat caregivers provide a community service by doing TNR which provides the following benefits to the community:
By doing TNR at their own expense, they are saving Horry County and the county taxpayers money;
By reducing the number of cats, they reduce shelter intake of cats, thus reducing costs to Horry County taxpayers;
Vaccinated cats increase overall public health and safety to the community;
Nuisance behaviors such as spraying, fighting and caterwauling during mating periods, are eliminated resulting in less complaints to county council members and to police officers.
Horry County Council, by endorsing TNR for the humane management of feral cats, recognizes the rights of feral cat caregivers for the non-custodial long-term management, oversight and care, to include food, shelter and health monitoring of feral cats; Horry County police officers will endorse TNR to be in compliance with Horry County Council's TNR Program.
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The Implement TNR for Feral Cats in Horry County petition to Karen J McGranahan was written by Bikini Beach Cat Rescue and is in the category Animal Welfare at GoPetition.