Alley Cat Allies exposes misrepresentation of TNR in the New Yorker

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Alley Cat Allies exposes misrepresentation of TNR
in the New Yorker
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• Alley Cat Allies is compelled to address the
  shockingly biased and dangerously misinformed
  portrayal of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), community
  cats, and the people who protect them in the
  piece How the No Kill Movement Betrays Its
  Name published in The New Yorker.
• The article, which should be labeled an opinion
  piece, uses debunked and antiquated studies to
  advocate for lethal control of cats outdoors, all
  while desperately downplaying the only humane and
  effective approachTrap-Neuter-Return (TNR)and
  condescending to or downright insulting the
  people who do the real legwork to benefit cats
  and communities.
• Writer Jonathan Franzen purports various cynical,
  imagined reasons why our movement calls unowned
  cats who live outdoors community cats. Were
  here to clear the air Community cats, who live
  and thrive in their natural outdoor homes among
  us, are called such to acknowledge their
  thousands of years of history as members of our
  communities.
• Community cats are bonded to their outdoor homes
  and to their feline families, and they are not
  generally candidates for adoption. TNR
  acknowledges their nature, their biology, and
  their inherent value as beings deserving of
  respect and protection by allowing these cats to
  continue their lives in familiar surroundings
  while ensuring their population stabilizes.

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• TNR is the ONLY evidence-based, humane, and
  effective approach to cats outdoors. Spaying or
  neutering means fewer kittens born outdoors and
  the reduction of behaviors associated with
  matingwhich are what people point to as
  nuisance behaviors. Additionally, vaccinations
  provided during TNR improve the cats health and
  address community health concernsthough its
  critical to note that cats are extremely unlikely
  to spread rabies, toxoplasmosis, or any other
  diseases. The success of community TNR programs
  is studied and documented.
• TNR is also the primary way community cats with
  other medical issues receive the care they need
  despite Franzen hammering in the idea that all
  cats are suffering outdoors (theres a sinister
  motive for this, as well describe later),
  community cats are generally healthy and in good
  condition and live long and fulfilling lives as
  pet cats.
• Developing objective, science-first best
  practices aimed at humane care for animals,
  building peaceful communities, and protecting all
  species should be the top priority in our modern
  world. That is why Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) has
  become mainstream practice. Beyond saving cats
  lives, TNR is sound public policy that reduces
  calls to animal control, reduces the number of
  cats entering shelters, and reduces taxpayer
  expense, all while meeting the demands of the
  public for effective, meaningful, AND lifesaving
  action for cats in their communities.

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• Franzen writes about TNR as under-resourced in
  far too many communities. The logical solution
  would be for local governments to devote more
  resources to TNR to improve its reach and
  efficacy rather than continue to waste money on
  ineffective lethal schemes. Franzens conclusion,
  though, is that lack of resources means TNR will
  never work. He believes cats should be killedand
  his portrayal of cats as constantly suffering
  outdoors is meant to justify lethal schemes.
• TNR opponents proposed alternatives to TNR
  come down to rounding up and killing cats over
  and over and over again. However, trapping cats
  and euthanizing them in shelters is not some
  untested idea it was the status quo for decades
  and failed miserably due to the Vacuum Effecta
  phenomenon in which other cats move in to take
  advantage of the resources that sustained the
  colony that was removed. In fact, TNR rose from a
  history of futile, cruel catch-and-kill cycles
  because communities recognized the need for
  change and that compassionate and humane
  approaches worked.
• Franzen, like many in the anti-TNR crowd, cites
  the same piece of debunked junk science that
  keeps coming back to haunt us within so-called
  factual articles. That science is an exercise
  in Olympic gymnast-level contortion to fit the
  findings of older studies into a pre-determined
  conclusion that cats are a major threat to birds
  and other wildlife species.

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• Cats have an important place in ecosystems, and
  whenever they are removed in large numbers, the
  consequences are direnot just for the cats but
  for local wildlife. The reality is cats are not a
  major threat to wildlife species, endangered or
  otherwise, and the science that claims such is
  heavily flawed and funded by fringe interests and
  biased parties. As we have seen time and time
  again, catch and kill leads to nothing but an
  endless cycle of expensive and morally bankrupt
  slaughter that does not benefit cats, community,
  or wildlife.
• But, on a positive note, the reality is also that
  we can protect both cats and wildlife. The
  interests are not mutually exclusive. By
  advocating for stronger TNR programs backed by
  local governments AND policies that curb
  human-led activities that are the true threats to
  wildlifelike habitat destruction and
  pollutionwe improve the lives of cats, wildlife,
  and us all.
• Like all worthwhile goals, communitywide effort
  is the key to humane and effective programs and
  policies. Rather than condescending and
  stereotyping cat caregivers, as Franzen does
  repeatedly in his article, Alley Cat Allies
  supports them with humane education on best
  practices for TNR and community cat care.

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• Rather than give community leaders an excuse to
  give up on humane programs and utilize taxpayer
  dollars on an endless cycle of killing cats, we
  push them to work WITH members of their
  communities and allot funds to what their people
  believe inwhich overwhelmingly is non-lethal
  approaches.
• Its time for communities, local governments, and
  media outlets like The New Yorker to stop wasting
  words, space, money, and time on calls to
  backtrack to the dark ages of killing cats and
  kittens endlessly. TNR is the only way forward.

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