Take Action Now!
SB 6 is now SB 189.
As of 1/13/10, this bill is pending in the Senate Agriculture Committee.
View bill here:
Scroll to bottom of this page to contact legislators about this bill.
ACTION ALERT FOR THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Do you live in West Virginia? Do you want to see TNR legalized throughout the state? If not, please write to the Agriculture Committee Members about SB 6!
Scroll to the end for email addresses and other contact info. Senate Bill 6 is pending in the Agriculture Committee.
If you do not live in West Virginia still make your voice heard! Why? A campaign by TNR advocates has been launched that could result in the Committee Members being inundated by emotionally-charged letters laden with misinformation about the effectiveness of TNR.
Your state could be next. Despite the fact that there is no scientific support for TNR, the promise of perceived cost savings has enabled this misguided method to become legal in some areas. Further, some politicians have succumbed to the pressure of TNR activists, even though emotional aspects of issues should not direct the legislative process.
Accountable animal control laws are designed to protect public health and welfare and to encourage responsible pet ownership. TNR cannot claim to do any of this and TNR cannot claim to reduce the impact on native wildlife.
Senator Boley introduced SB 6 on February 11, 2009. View the bill here:
Key points to make can be found here:
http://tnrrealitycheck.com/leg.asp
Additionally, the Committee Members may hear some or all of the following and you folks need to set the record straight!
Claim: It is more cost-effective and successful to provide responsible TNR services than to euthanize cats ? in some communities, TNR has lowered the cost of feral cat control by as much as 45 percent.
Reality: Groups claiming this must back their statements by financial records. What about the costs of rabies vaccines for post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for folks who are bitten or scratched by a free-roaming cat? Not all cats are vaccinated in managed colonies. What if the Animal Control Officer has to return to a site multiple times due to nuisances that are not resolved? Cats still defecate in sand boxes and gardens and kill birds at feeders. What about colonies that are mismanaged and out of control? See here for how to properly evaluate the success of a TNR program:
http://tnrrealitycheck.com/media/TNR_evaluative_questions.pdf
Claim: Killing cats simply allows for a vacuum effect where new ferals enter open territories and continue to breed.
Reality: Cat Removal works when the artificial food source is also removed. Wild animals do move into an area to fill an ecological niche, but the only reason domestic cats congregate is due to an artificial food source (i.e., catfeeders providing handouts or unsecured garbage). Further, this argument should not be framed in terms of whether or not to kill cats. Cat removal does not necessarily result in euthanasia of cats. Many feral cats, including adults, can be socialized for adoption. Sanctuaries can be set up. Colonies can be fenced-in or enclosed on private property. Given the fact that there are an estimated 60 to 100 million feral cats roaming throughout the U.S., and that TNR does not result in a statistically significant reduction according to the AVMA, other solutions that do not result in the euthanasia of cats are equally workable.
Claim: The number of kittens born in TNR feral cat colonies substantially decreases after the first year of the program, thus lowering total feral cat populations.
Reality: For many years, TNR advocates claimed that colonies would eventually become eliminated through natural attrition. We know that is not the case and colonies are perpetually maintained. In actuality, even having no kittens born into a colony or 'stabilizing' the colony is difficult to achieve. Neighborhood cats find the food source. Pet owners dump their cats at colonies. Those cats that evade capture are fed and thus better able to breed.
Claim: Animal nuisance complaints are reduced and public health concerns, such as the spread of rabies, are addressed.
Reality: Nuisances are often not abated or they are redirected to the individuals and groups conducting TNR. A reduction in nuisance complaints does not mean there are fewer feral cats on the streets. The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians has stated that there is no evidence that colony management programs will reduce diseases. For more information about public health concerns see here:
http://tnrrealitycheck.com/pubhealth.asp
Claim: The number of cats entering already over-extended community shelters is reduced.
Reality: Documentation should be provided showing this. Regardless, fewer cats in the shelters do not mean that there are fewer cats on the streets.
Claim: TNR public relations campaigns help educate the community to the fact that cats need and deserve good care, which includes spay/neuter, vaccination for disease, and the very basics of life ? food, water, and shelter.
Reality: TNR is not respectful of property rights or the rights of citizens who may not wish to have a managed colony next to their home or place of business. TNR sends the wrong message to communities ? that re-abandonment of a domestic companion animal is acceptable. Good care is not the cornerstone of TNR ? avoiding the euthanasia of cats is the main purpose. TNR sets up two standards of veterinary care for the same species of animal. What would you think if your veterinarian told you that your pet cat…
Could come in for an exam just once her whole life?
Only needed one rabies vaccine her whole life?
Could and should roam freely outdoors?
Could use a doghouse filled with straw as acceptable shelter?
Yet, this is the reality for most of these cats. We will not change the behavior of pet owners if we condone TNR. These cats often live mediocre to miserable lives in colonies and usually die from some trauma or disease.
Claim: Bird and wildlife populations have declined, not because of feral cats, but because of destruction of natural habitat, combined with pesticide use and general pollution.
Reality: Loss of habitat is the primary challenge wildlife faces. However, there are many serious secondary causes of wild animal mortality as a result of human activities. They include, but are not limited to: building strikes, by-catch (fishing practices), domestic cat predation, communication towers, horseshoe crab harvesting (source of food for shorebirds), methane gas burners (affects perching raptors), oil spills, power lines, trash (balloons, plastic bags, six-pack rings, discarded fishing line, etc.), wind turbines. The fact of the matter is that the effect is cumulative and we should not further compromise wild animals, already struggling to survive, through the presence of free-roaming cats. The popularity of the domestic cat as a household pet has precluded some officials from even discussing the feral cat issue let alone making appropriate decisions that do not come at the expense of our natural resources.
Claim: Feral kittens, friendly strays, and lost pets are generally able to be adopted or returned to the owner.
Reality: Colonies often consist of true feral cats, semi-feral cats, lost pets, pets permitted to roam, as well as rabies vector species such as raccoons and skunks that usually dine alongside the cats. Adoption of friendly animals can occur whether or not true feral cats are returned to where they were found.
Claim: A positive option for healthy feral cats needing to be relocated is placement on a farm or acreage as a barn cat.
Reality: Using cats for pest control is not environmentally responsible. The end does not justify the means. Not unlike pesticides, cats kill much more than just rats ? many non-target animals are affected. See here for more information about barn cats:
http://tnrrealitycheck.com/barn_cats.asp
Claim: Humans created the problem; it is our responsibility to create a humane solution.
Reality: Agreed. But, TNR does not result in humane outcomes for domestic cats. Releasing them back to the wild is not an act of compassion. TNR is a self-serving 'solution' that disregards the environment, native wildlife, property owners, public health and the law.
See here for responsible ways to manage cats:
http://tnrrealitycheck.com/responsible.asp
Here is the contact information for the Agriculture Committee Members. Snail mail and phone calls are better than emails!
Full List of Agriculture Committee Members:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/senate/SenateCommittee.cfm?Chart=agri
Senator White, Chair:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20White
Senator Williams, Vice-Chair:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Williams
Senator Helmick:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Helmick
Senator Laird:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Laird
Senator Minard:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Minard
Senator Palumbo:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Palumbo
Senator Snyder:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Snyder
Senator Unger:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Unger
Senator Facemyer:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Facemyer
Senator Guills:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Guills
Senator Sypolt:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Sypolt
You may also wish to inform Senator Boley about the ill-conceived legislation she has introduced:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Senate1/Members/senmemview.cfm?input=Senator%20Boley
West Virginians, take a stand for your property rights! Help ensure that the migratory and breeding birds and other wild critters of West Virginia do NOT have the additional stressors of cat colonies compromising their survival! Do not allow for the re-abandonment of these cats! Prevent TNR proponents, ONLY focused on saving cats at all costs, usurp good judgment about public health and welfare! Make your voice heard. Thank you!