An article was published yesterday in the Virginian Pilot that appeared to have been written on order of PETA. It was a hysterical and wildly inaccurate piece claiming that winter is on its way (got that much right) and so feral cats will be dying in the streets in vast numbers (umm, what?). The motivation for the article was the fact that Portsmouth Humane stopped receiving feral cats in recent months after a brouhaha over their prior practice of taking ferals in and then adopting them to staff members and releasing them following sterilization surgery and innoculation against rabies. The article relied solely on the word of PETA to suggest that Portsmouth must come up with a plan for taking in ferals during the winter. It is our view that no shelter should be accepting feral cats since they will die in a shelter whereas they can survive with great success on their own even in the winter months as do many other animals. Ferals are best off if we respect their abilities to care for themselves and do only what they need for us to do – that is, provide trap-neuter-return services and rabies inoculations for them.
The sole source for this clap trap was PETA’s Daphna Nachminovitch who was amusingly described as an “animal welfare expert.” She pontificated on the PETA party line that feral cats are far better off being killed in a shelter than dying on the street “very, very badly.” According to Ms. Nachminovitch and her “expertise,” these are the only two options available to feral cats. PETA does not acknowledge what the rest of us understand: that feral cats can actually have long and good lives living on their own especially if they have the benefits of trap-neuter-return. And, those of us who understand this are willing to work, raise money and advocate to assure them of those long and good lives rather than simply to promote more killing.
The article offers no other viewpoint, even though there are many animal welfare experts in Tidewater, as well as here, from whom the reporter could have gotten a clear understanding of the true facts about feral cats and the attributes of TNR. The article is also inaccurate in suggesting through a quote that it is the role of animal control agencies to take in feral cats that have been trapped. In truth, Virginia state law does not require localities to impound cats at all. Also, it quotes Ms. Nachminovitch as saying that most local governments have systems in place for dealing with feral cats, which could not be further from the truth. Most localities have no plan whatsoever for ferals, nor are they required to do so. Most amazingly, the article insists that there is an issue with ferals in Portsmouth even though the City Manager of Portsmouth is quoted as saying that that the city has gotten no complaints at all about issues with feral cats.
It is clear to me that one part of the challenge in saving feral cats from being killed in shelters is to convince our communities and our elected representatives that TNR is the right approach. The other part of the challenge is to get accurate information out to the public who gets confused and mislead by false and one-sided stories such as this one that masquerade as news.
Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires both your first and last name to be used as your screen name.
I totally agree, Ms. Starr...feral cats are quite capable of caring for themselves save for controlling their population, which the TNR program takes care of admirably. I live in south Florida , and we do have an overpopulation problem in certain areas, but it is not to suggest that these animals do not live good lives, especially in our warm climate. Individuals who care for this population selflessly have their ferals neutered and immunized, but I am unaware of a formal program in my area that will do that. A TNR program in our area would be a viable solution to our problem without having ferals stuffed into already crowded shelters, to be put down when they aren't adopted. Thank you for your tireless work in the area of animal care and protection.
Posted by: Lisa Garr | January 03, 2014 at 11:35 AM
Thank you Robin Starr for being the voice of reason. TNR embodies, compassion, common sense and good public policy.
Posted by: Peggy Lynch | January 03, 2014 at 12:30 PM
Most would agree that "animal advocacy" does not start and end with needless euthanasia. So attributing any expertise to Ms. Nachminovitch is irresponsible and in poor journalistic taste.
There are many tools in the box for the humane treatment of feral cats. TNR has proven as a successful one. It may not be the easy solution (like rounding up feral animals and killing them) but it is a humane, thoughtful one.
Shame on PETA and its supporters for continuing to call themselves "animal advocates" when all they really advocate for is killing.
Posted by: Sue Bell, Homeward Trails Animal Rescue | January 03, 2014 at 12:38 PM
TNS is a terrific program! Now that Peta has had their say,,,, can you now be allowed the same? Why IRS has not closed them down is beyond me! 501c non-profits are not supposed to lobby!
Posted by: kathie vogel | January 03, 2014 at 04:48 PM
Robin Robertson Starr, you have hit the nail on the head. I am so tired of PETA advocates spouting the baloney that feral cats should be killed. While lone cats, not living in colonies and not tended to by a person might have a harder time, it is usually the dumped PET cats that are the ones that do not survive well outside of a home.
Feral kitties much prefer the company of cats and independence of outdoor living. Thank you for countering PETA's nonsensical propaganda.
Posted by: Molly | January 03, 2014 at 06:28 PM
I completely agree with Ms. Starr that we need more correct info to get out to the public & that the TNR programs work very well & the ferals that are released do fair well. I have a cat that was a feral kitten trapped with her two siblings & her mother, the mother was spayed & vaccinated and released back into the colony while the kittens were rehabilitated & found forever homes. It takes time, understanding, & patience but there are a large number of rescues committed to just that working on controlling the numbers in the existing colonies from growing but not killing any of them, TNR & let them live out their lives in their colonies were they are used to being..considering how much PETA blasts the killing of animals I would think they would've done better research before claiming to be an expert on this matter that they obviously don't have the proper info on!!
Posted by: Maureen Snyder | January 04, 2014 at 12:35 AM
God did not Create dumb animals. i can for many Community Cats . They do well ... even better when someone watches out for them. Was -7 here last night ........ they lived. So PETA ...... i say to you ... LEAVE the FERALS ALONE. if you can't help ... leave it.
Posted by: Russell Bergeron | January 04, 2014 at 01:42 PM