PROTECT THE PROTECTORS

The Endangered Species Act is currently being used as part of a lawsuit against the Space Coast Feline Network in Brevard County, Florida. The instigators of this action are members of bird related organizations who claim outdoor cats are a “non-native” and “invasive” threat.

This is not just Florida’s problem. There are endangered species of birds in almost every state and Important Bird Areas (IBA’s) dot the map from coast to coast. The potential for anti-TNR groups to pressure the federal government to apply the Endangered Species Act across America should concern every feral cat advocate.

Colony caretakers already face a number of obstacles, including:

-Local governments that change their policies, resulting in feeding bans, fines and colony confiscation.

-Opposition from animal control organizations that institute anti-TNR ordinances.

-State agencies like the DNR that are influenced by special interest groups to target feral cats and TNR colonies.

-County and state health departments that issue public warnings about feral cats transmitting rabies and disease to people and animals.

-Cat haters who torture and kill outdoor felines.

Before more volunteers are recruited for TNR programs, national animal advocacy groups need to take steps to protect cat caretakers from misuse of the Endangered Species Act.

If influential cat advocates continue to ignore this new threat- as they did the American Bird Conservancy’s Cats Indoors! Campaign initiated in 1997- TNR programs across the country will be shut down.

Recommended Action:

-A lobbying effort should be initiated to oppose defining cats as “non-native” and “invasive”. After all, cats have been living in North America since the 1600’s.

-Animal control agencies need to be persuaded to retrain their staff to solve cat overpopulation using TNR instead of trap-incarcerate-kill. Taxpayers should be informed that cat killing is unnecessary when there is a more humane and less expensive alternative available.

National cat advocacy groups should follow the organizational model that made the leaders in Wisconsin successful: Take a stand and advance an effective public relations campaign to win over lawmakers.

Prepared by The Feline Resistance staff 5/18/05

THE TROJAN HORSE

The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is ready to offer a “solution”to the outdoor cat problem in Wisconsin. Although their rhetoric is couched in humane terms, the ultimate goal is to eliminate all cats from the environment including feral, free-roaming and pets.

The people of Wisconsin should know what the consequences are when the American Bird Conservancy weighs in to “protect”their cats.

In Minnesota, where shooting outdoor felines is legal, ABC’s Cats Indoors! Campaign figures prominently with DNR’s publication of “Minnesota’s Killer Kitties”, a propaganda piece that cites the debunked Temple/Coleman study. Minnesota DNR also offers a direct link to the Cats Indoors! Web site.

In Florida, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC) was the first state agency to embrace the Cats Indoors! Campaign, which resulted in the following:

-In 2003, the FWC attempted to pass a law that would have effectively ended Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs across the state. Public outrage and extensive press coverage resulted in a hearing where FWC commissioners ignored scientific data and voted to pass the law, renaming it a “policy”.

The original initiative was “spearheaded”by the American Bird Conservancy, with testimony from Brevard County, Florida veterinarian, Christine Storts.

-In 2004, Space Coast Feline Network (SCFN), a Brevard County TNR group with a history of success in reducing feral cat populations, was sued by Dr. Christine Storts. Her attorney, Pamela Jo Hatley (author of “Feral Cat Colonies: The Fur and Feathers are Flying”, featured on Wisconsin DNR’s Web site) joined forces with the American Bird Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sue SCFN under the Endangered Species Act. This lawsuit resulted in SCFN losing funding from the county and incurring extensive legal bills. The plaintiffs have demanded a list of cat colony locations as well as information about the caretakers, which SCFN is resisting. If Space Coast Feline Network loses this battle, the negative consequences for TNR groups across the nation would be significant.

So, Wisconsin citizens beware- when the American Bird Conservancy offers their Cats Indoors! Campaign as a “solution”it is nothing more than a Trojan horse.

Prepared by The Feline Resistance staff 4/15/05