Feral Cats Feeding Ban

[DapperButch]

Hi, folks. I have copy/pasted an email from an no kill animal shelter that I support called Faithful Friends. Please read:


Faithful Friends No Kill Animal Shelter

Action Request

Stop Proposed Ban on Feeding Cats
March 30, 2011



Dear Friends:

I am writing to ask for your help to stop a proposed feeding ban against stray and feral cats. This is happening in Radnor Township, PA and may be voted on as early as April 11th. You may have seen this on Channel 6 last week.



One person complained about cats in their yard and now the Board of Health is concerned that stray and feral cats can easily transmit diseases to humans, such as rabies and toxoplasmosis. They have consulted with only one veterinarian on this matter who has recommended the ban and believes it's in the best interest of the township's public health.



As leaders in the local no kill movement, we are spearheading the advocacy effort to stop the ban in a neighboring community that is asking for help. Even if you don't live in Radnor Township, it is important to speak out against this ordinance. If it passes there, it won't be long before other communities follow suit. And those kitties will lose their lives.

I have attached a letter which you can forward through email to the Board of Commissioners. These are the persons that will decide whether the ordinance gets passed. It explains why a feeding ban would be ineffective and suggests alternative solutions.



Due to the time sensitivity, I am asking you to reach out to your family, friends and coworkers ASAP and ask them to contact the Board immediately. If you know anybody that lives in Radnor Township (Bryn Mawr, Wayne, St. Davids, Radnor, Rosemont & Villanova) please forward to them as well. You will find below the name, telephone number and email address for each board member.

We don't want to see a township pass an ordinance that allows cats to starve to death. Other solutions, such as TNR, are effective which has already gained recognition for its success in the Radnor Township.



We will be working on this issue in Delaware over the next 2 years. For now, thanks for standing up with me on this issue in a neighboring community that needs our support.

Many thanks,



Jane Pierantozzi, Executive Director


WHO TO CONTACT AND HOW!




1 Harry Mahoney Esq. 215-587-9400 hmahoney@radnor.org

2 Kevin Higgins 610-688-7787 khiggins@radnor.org

3 Willian Spingler 610-687-0839 bspingler@radnor.org

4 Elaine Schaefer 610-355-0611 eschaefer@radnor.org

5 John Nagle 610-527-7218 Jnagle@radnor.org

6 Donald Curley 610-256-1287 dcurley@radnor.org

7 John Fisher 610-519-0253 jfisher@radnor.org



SAMPLE LETTER TO SEND:


Dear Commissioners,

I understand that Radnor Township is considering a feeding ban of free roaming cats because there is a public health concern they can transmit certain diseases to humans. I ask you to vote AGAINST this proposal that would make Radnor Township an inhumane town, and seek alternative solutions that have been proven effective in other communities.

The veterinarian from the Board of Health, Dr. Len Donato, stated that various contagious diseases, such as rabies, could be transmitted from cats to humans. However, he doesn't present any scientific evidence that a feeding ban will effectively address this public health concern. The information he has presented is purely anecdotal. In fact, Dr. Donato cannot cite a single reported case of disease being transmitted directly from cats to humans in Radnor Township.

There are other humane and effective ways to address Radnor's public health concern. In a news release on September 2, 2010 by Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture, the Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding stated, "Vaccinating wild animals against rabies is essential to ensuring human and domestic animal health." Twelve counties in western Pennsylvania have participated in an annual oral rabies vaccination program targeting raccoons, which make up more than half of all rabies cases in the state. According to Redding, "The oral rabies vaccination program has proven successful over the past six years, reducing the number of reported cases in Pennsylvania by nearly 60 percent." Western Pennsylvania didn't starve cats to death to effectively address the transmission of rabies to humans.

Another effective way to minimize the transmission of disease from cats to humans is a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage/Monitor (TNRM) program. In a TNRM program, stray and feral cats are trapped, sterilized to stop reproduction, vaccinated against diseases including rabies, then returned to their home territory where they are fed, sheltered and monitored on an ongoing basis by a designated caretaker. Any sick or injured cats are removed from the colony and receive appropriate veterinary evaluation and care.

TNRM programs supported by municipalities in California, Florida, and Illinois have reduced feral cat populations by 20%-40% in five years and by over 50% in San Diego since 1989. Radnor Township itself has already seen an effective TNRM program on Eachus Avenue. In 2009, a colony of 27 cats (6 adults, 12 kittens and 9 born in captivity) was decreased to 5 cats through TNRM and hasn't grown in numbers since. Other local communities are using TNRM including Wilmington, Greenwood Delaware and New Castle County Delaware with more communities following suit. Managing and monitoring the colony requires the caretaker to provide food and water to these cats outdoors, so a feeding ban would make it illegal for him/her to continue a program that has already been recognized and applauded in your township.

According to national experts from Alley Cat Allies and Best Friends Animal Society, there are an estimated 11,700 feral (community) cats in Radnor Township. A feeding ban will not stop the proliferation and plight of all these animals. And the ban is in stark contrast to your public health concerns. Unfed feral cats are more likely to rummage in dumpsters and garbage cans with raccoons, which have the highest incidence of rabies in Pennsylvania. Feral cats avoid human contact by nature, but will be more apt to approach people for food if they are starving to death, thereby increasing the likelihood of transmitting disease.

We again ask the town's leadership to listen to the facts presented, speak to experts in this area and support a humane, more effective approach to addressing your public health concern. Please vote AGAINST a proposal that would ban feeding of roaming cats in your township.

Thank you for your consideration of this very important matter.

Thank you from our Feline Friends!

From all of our feline friends who have made their home in your neighborhood or behind your business -

Thank you for helping to protect our friends!

[violaine]

an older florida law resource [and searchable database] may provide something wording-wise for ferals in your state:

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus18jlanduseenvtll441.htm


http://www.homeatlastrescue.org/html/aboutcats/feral.html

some suggestions-

if one vet is for the ban, find others who help people who rehabilitate/support TNR.

see if you can talk to the chief animal control officer- the individual may not be able to support you in the issue per se, but on/off the record may have valuable information.

arrange a meeting with the commissioner you think might be interested in listening/bending ears of other commissioners.

write a letter to the editor.

you have your rights as citzens [like the law article mentions] - use the media to your advantage. you can build a facebook page and it could draw attention to a local media station [this happened with some work i did in the state of indiana].

thank you, and good luck.

[DapperButch]

an older florida law resource [and searchable database] may provide something wording-wise for ferals in your state:

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus18jlanduseenvtll441.htm


http://www.homeatlastrescue.org/html/aboutcats/feral.html

some suggestions-

if one vet is for the ban, find others who help people who rehabilitate/support TNR.

see if you can talk to the chief animal control officer- the individual may not be able to support you in the issue per se, but on/off the record may have valuable information.

arrange a meeting with the commissioner you think might be interested in listening/bending ears of other commissioners.

write a letter to the editor.

you have your rights as citzens [like the law article mentions] - use the media to your advantage. you can build a facebook page and it could draw attention to a local media station [this happened with some work i did in the state of indiana].

thank you, and good luck.

Hi, belle.

I am actually not a PA resident (I live in a neighboring state), but I thought that I would post this here for the PA folks to see.

Thank you for the information!

[Diva]

I guess You're gonna have to come see me in jail......currently, I'm feeding 5 "neighborhood kittehs"......and while I can't really afford it, my heart breaks to see them so thin......and I won't have it.

So arrest me already.

[cuddlyfemme]

I don't have any feral cats where I live now but when I lived in the DC area there were lots of them that I fed. I got a few to the point that when I'd come out with food they'd come near me. If I saw a feral cat where I live, I'd feed them also. If I'd be put in jail, so be it

[Andrea]

Throw us in jail too. We have seven feral cats that we befriended by feeding in order to trap for spay and neutering.

At least 'our' cats are no longer procreating like the people in the corner house who have not had any of their cats spayed or neutered and are constantly producing kittens.

I will be sending emails to those listed.

Andrea

[Andrew, Jr.]

In my neighborhood, we all we participating in feeding, and loving on the feral cats living in the natural habitat. It was a total of about 10 cats. We even had a vet giving the cats shots, vaccines, and all the normal care. If one was sick, she would take it in to be watched over, and rehabbed back to healthed. It was just 1 person in the neighborhood who called in Animal Control to take away the feral cats one afternoon. They set up traps. Nobody had a clue because most were at work, or not at home to see what was going on. No matter what letters were written or what the vet said, all the feral cats were put down. Needless to say, this 1 neighbor will be shoveling her own snow/ice, and has really alienated herself from everyone else in the neighborhood.

We all figured out who it was who did this. She is a major pain in the ass. She is anti-pet, animal with the exception of horses. Sad to say she is an Asst. Principal in the city school system. Those poor kids. If she does that to cats...
makes one think twice.

Andrew

[The_Lady_Snow]

We had this issue at my apartment in Ohio, the cat folks were called because our front doors were gross and being sprayed allll the time it was gross and the smell was disgusting.

We reported our neighbor forhaving a PYREX glass bowl full of cat chow, this is after repeatedly asking her to stop and everyone telling her about the smells.

Cat problem solved minus neighbors pissed off attitude who now is reporting all of the anti feed the cats neighbors over dumb shit.

Here in Fl we have the woman behind us who keeps a gaggle of cats fed:|

[Glenn]

Yeah..it's always one old crab. I have my own,plus I feed the homeless ones. I have a food pantry goin on here. My father and mother told me if I helped them I would have good luck in my life, and it proved to be true. Also that letter did'nt mention about how a pack of rodents can become much more unhealthy than a packof cats. I daresay, none come more naturally equipped than the cat for keeping the rodent, roach, etc. population down. I'm also affiliated with a great organization here called Calumet Snap, who comes here and takes the ones they can trap, for low-cost spaying and neutering, and drops them back off!

[Toughy]

Oakland has hundreds of feral cats......maybe more of them than raccoons but not by much.

The Oakland SPCA will spay/neuter any feral cat brought to them for free and you take the cat back where you caught it and set it free.

Seems a much more sensible solution to keep the population down. Frankly I got no problems with them......they get the mice/rat population down

The two cats we have in our house were rescued from a feral mother who was spayed when she was found with the kittens.

[girl_dee]

I am all about helping the cats, but there is some substance to the no feed rule.

Being hungry is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the health of these poor animals. I personally can't stand to watch them fight parasites and injuries. They are a huge threat to domesticated cats as well. There are many places where if you feed an animal, you are considered it's owner and will be held for lack of vaccinations not to mention the property damage they can do.


My neighbor *cat lady* fed a few ferals. For her kindness the front end of my new SUV was ruined from scratches, the entire end of the block wreaked of cat spray and the feral population grew in size very quickly. I could not go outside in my own yard. Several times cats were killed/mauled when an unsuspecting neighbor started a car with a kitty laying on the engine for warmth. Others were injured over fights and mating rights. My neighbor many houses away left a crack in his truck window, yup cat got in there and sprayed... gross!

In the end, hundreds of cats were taken to the shelter when finally something was done about it. The entire time she felt she was caring for the animals. Her heart in the right place of course, but she did more harm than good.

Not sure what the answer is, but I can see how the no feed ban would come to be. Feeding them is a bandaid to a major problem, what more can be done? I do care too.

[Diva]

Yes, I see what the issue is.

And my personal goal is to gather them up and have them spayed/neutered by Animal Trustees of Austin....it's the least I can do.

[Glenn]

SG; Wow! I actually let the strays that are spraying that shit in my house, isolate themin one room, along with the females too, then call Cal Snap, they come over here, trap em with a net,and bring em back. I have'nt had any problems like the ones you described, but I did break up some fights and have'nt had any injuries or major health problems, or bad property damage yet. After five years of doing this, I am proud to say I have the cat and rodent population waay down here in my area.

[betenoire]

It's pretty misguided to say that feeding strays is the problem. People are the problem - those cats aren't a naturally occurring species in the wild here. They came from somewhere.

Feeding feral cats doesn't spontaneously create more cats in your neighborhood. More cats in your neighborhood are created by the existing cats being left un-spayed/neutered. The solution is pretty obvious, and that solution isn't "stop feeding them" or "have them all killed". The solution is trap them, spay them, and set them free.

[AtLast]

It's pretty misguided to say that feeding strays is the problem. People are the problem - those cats aren't a naturally occurring species in the wild here. They came from somewhere.

Feeding feral cats doesn't spontaneously create more cats in your neighborhood. More cats in your neighborhood are created by the existing cats being left un-spayed/neutered. The solution is pretty obvious, and that solution isn't "stop feeding them" or "have them all killed". The solution is trap them, spay them, and set them free.

Yup! There are organizations here that do just this. Trap, spay/neuter, free- or foster/neuter and place in homes.

It does bother me that these cats are around my cats and carry disease, but, people put out food for birds and other critters.

I have trapped ferral cats that were very sick and called animal control. I can't stand seeing injured or very ill cats having to fend for themselves.

[girl_dee]

Yes, and unfortunately there are people like my old neighbor everywhere, you can't force them to do the responsible thing. They truly think they are being responsible by leaving food out for the poor cats.

Often people just truly don't know. Birdbaths are often diseased, birdfeeders interfere with the natural feeding patterns of birds. Animals become dependent on this and their whole system becomes off kilter by eating foods they normally would not eat.

There are people here who feed the deer. What they are doing is having them killed as the deer cross the highway to come get the food. Not to mention the harm it could do to the person / property hitting the deer. When people feed animals it teaches them to trust man, and that is not always a good thing for the animal.

It's not just the cats who have a problem.