Currently in VA, releasing a domestic or exotic animal into the wild is considered illegal as abandonment. This bill will allow people to abandon cats as long as they claim its for “TNR.” If you’re on the fence or aren’t sure why this is such an issue, let’s crack into it https://twitter.com/college_fiit/status/1360371368261484548

Firstly, here’s a really great document cultivated by @BarghestBlack on research that shows the destruction/risk caused by cats being allowed to free-roam, which is what much of this thread will be elaborating on: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LncxwSFBw9bO5-mB4nuXUPL2Da6U3fO67RokdEUeaAQ/mobilebasic

So let’s just start off with the basics: cats. Domestic cats. This includes “feral” or “stray” cats - regardless of how well or not these cats are socialized, they are all the same species, which is the Domestic Cat. Meaning, they are not a native wild animal ANYWHERE on Earth.

Just like dogs, cats were domesticated from a previously wild animal, & through thousands of years of selective breeding, we have an entirely different species from their previously native & wild ancestor.

So this makes cats a human creation, and therefore a human responsibility. When people say “it’s not the cats fault they hunt,” they’re absolutely correct. But then it falls on humans to allow cats to perform natural behaviors, but, & I cannot stress this enough, IN A SAFE WAY.

What is considered “safe?” Indoors. On a leash & harness. In an enclosed outdoor space. Some people say “while supervised outdoors,” but I don’t consider this as safe, bc if your cat gets spooked while you’re with it, most likely it will run before you can grab it.

All of this is entirely based on keeping your beloved pet safe and happy. But what’s so dangerous about being outdoors? Maybe you’ve always had outdoor cats & never had a problem, or maybe you live somewhere you think is inherently “safe” (looking at you, UK).

While this person is based in NA, this thread of injured feral/outdoor cats is not caused by things only found here. Cats can easily be hit by cats, attacked by predators, injured or poisoned by other people (knowingly or unknowingly), attacked by OTHER cats, get sick, etc. https://twitter.com/corvacorvidae/status/1338669232331100168

While an indoor/outdoor cat who is injured or sick may be found or noticed missing, the likelihood that a feral cat is noticed & then able to be contained to receive life-saving treatment is low. Free-roaming cats could be ANYWHERE at any given time, prolonging their suffering.

And even then - if your indoor/outdoor cat is hit by a car - the likelihood you’ll know or notice in time to save them/get them immediate care is STILL incredibly slim, unless you are with your cat every moment it is outside (which, let’s be honest, is also slim).

Imagine having a pet, having a safe, indoor home for them, and instead saying “I don’t want to enrich you enough to keep you happy inside, so instead I’ll let you outdoors so you can enrich yourself & thereby put yourself at risk of all these preventable dangers!”

Responsible pet ownership is mitigating risk/danger to your pet & giving them appropriate care. Allowing pets to free-roam outdoors is NOT appropriate care, nor is it mitigating risk!! Cats aren’t “easy” pets, & this is perpetuated by thinking you can just “let them come & go.”

Now that we understand the dangers & lives that outdoor & feral cats encounter, how should we go about fixing the overwhelming welfare issue that is feral cats & colonies existing around the world? Does TNR work? Is that the best solution? Should we engage in mass culling?

(And don’t worry, we’ll get into the environmental issues of outdoor/feral cats - just bear with me here!)
So, my main issue with TNR advocacy groups is the amount of polarization & just blatant false info they provide, which then leads me to be questionable of EVERYTHING they do

TNR groups want you to think that this is an either/or issue - that either we TNR, or cats die. This is MEANT to use your emotions to pick one of two options - without revealing that, there are OTHER options.

Firstly - cats die with TNR that’s literally the basis of their success. They use words like “colonies are reduced” and “colonies disappear” - but this only happens, because the cats they choose to leave there eventually die.

This is a fun little article I’ve seen spread around that has “studies proving TNR success” - but what does TNR consider a success?

https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/trap-neuter-return-tnr-success-stories?fbclid=IwAR1xs0H3lNzVGRO8PgKpVG3FF4MDDTYJfIcVuwMdi_KtYByMRpc4gfrttN0

That cats died out, either from elements we discussed before, OR, if a cat is “lucky,” from old age. But consider this - when your pet cat starts getting older, to the point it is now a welfare issue, what do you do? Do you say “guess I’ll let nature take its course”?

Or do you take the cat to the vet, start it on end-of-life care to make the cat comfortable, or even opt to schedule a time for euthanasia if it takes a turn for the worse? Because THAT is humane & responsible care. Dying from “old age,” is generally ANYTHING but “comfortable.”

These feral cats don’t get that. They don’t cat a painless death, even if they survive to “old age.” They suffer, and probably succumb faster to death outdoors because they don’t have access to the warmth, comfort, specialized diets, medications, that owned cats do.

It absolutely pains me, to think that there are cats out there (because of humans) suffering due to preventable issues because someone thought “well, this is good enough!” TNR is not focused on animal welfare - it’s focused on human emotion, & making people feel good - not cats.

Now comes the other part - “well what should we do then? Just kill them all?”
We need to address a key issue here - that the majority of people have a real problem with death, & they believe that, generally, life > quality of life. So TNR makes this an “either or” issue.

When in REALITY, there can be other options. My favorite solution is amending to TNR policies that, instead of just releasing cats to the wild, they should construct secure enclosures for feral cats that cannot be fostered indoors.

Enclosures would solve a LOT of issues that both TNR advocates AND wildlife enthusiasts have concerns over. Cats in a secure enclosure would allow for caretakers to actually get eyes on EVERY cat in their care, vs just HOPING that the cats you’ve been feeding are all in one place

Then if a cat is having health probs, it will be more likely noticed and also EASIER to then contain that specific cat - because that cat can’t just leave or go wherever it pleases now! So cat welfare & quality of life immediately improves.

They’ll also be protected from predators, cars, poison, new sick/aggressive cats, inclement weather. They may still have some exposure to disease & illness, but again, capture will be easier to treat these AND revaccination will also be easier.

Depending on the enclosure, you may be able to fully mitigate depredation by cats on wildlife - & at the very least would heavily reduce access cats would have to wildlife (small gauge wire would probably still allow depredation of invertebrates).

“But we don’t have the resources to build enclosures!” Well then, you’re telling me you don’t have the resources to fulfill your mission - which for TNR groups, it’s to reduce cat colonies & provide HUMANE CARE of cats. As mentioned - free roaming cats can’t be guaranteed this.

And if you don’t have the resources to do your job, well maybe people should question exactly what it is you’re doing then. However, if they pushed enclosures as a solution vs reabandonment, then they would get more support from wildlife enthusiasts, vs pushback

Next: euthanasia. Let’s talk about it. This is a highly polarized issue, again, bc people don’t understand quality of life vs just being alive. Let’s look at it from another perspective. Say a shelter is full of dogs, and animal control catches a pack of unowned free-roaming dogs

The shelter could: squeeze these new dogs in in small, temporary enclosures, reach out to rescues, or euthanize them/other dogs to make room, OR, they could neuter the dogs & release them back outdoors!

If they squeeze them into temporary enclosures, that might buy SOME time, but is that humane? Is that good welfare? Do they have the resources to feed this number of dogs? Do they have the staff to have the time to walk & enrich these dogs? Can they safely care for “feral” dogs?

They could reach out to a rescue - but rescues, since they’re independently run, can say no - rescues can pick & choose who they take, but a county-run shelter is often obligated to take in domesticated animals in their county. So, they often end up overcrowded.

They could euthanize these dogs/other dogs to make room, but then they’re labeled as a “kill” shelter (even if they can’t properly care for them), receive backlash from the community which then reduces the support they get, which then hinders their ability to help more animals.

OR - they could spay/neuter & release the dogs back out into the wild!
But, we don’t do that for dogs. Why? Bc we realized long ago that free-roaming dogs were a danger to humans, livestock, wildlife, and pets, both in the damage they can do & also the diseases they can spread.

We don’t do that for ANYTHING domesticated or nonnative - we don’t do this for burmese pythons, feral hogs, cows, ferrets, exotic birds, zoo animals, literally nothing else - because we understand it’s inappropriate, dangerous, & isn’t safe for the animals or the environment.

So why do we do it for cats? Well, bc “we’ve always done it!” Outdoor cats are something that has existed for generations. But does that mean we should just encourage it? “Bc we’ve always done it that way!” Is not an appropriate excuse - we know better, we DO better.

Some shelters LOVE TNR - because it makes them look good from a statistics POV instead of euthanizing the cats Bc they may not have space/ resources/ theyre unadoptable, they can “release” them, keeping their euth stats low - even though they’re still indirectly killing cats.

Lastly - TNR thinks they’re “saving” cats from euthanasia (which, we now know is replaced with long, unnecessary suffering), but doesn’t address the massive amount of damage cats do to the environment around them - to wildlife, other pets, AND PEOPLE!

Not only are cats in danger, but so is everything in the environment around them. We KNOW that even well-fed cats still hunt & kill for fun. Even pet cats allowed to roam kill - and only bring home 18% of what they kill, so homeowners have no true idea of the damage theyre doing.

Cats have been the cause of over 60 species extinctions, and indiscriminately kill - if they find an endangered animal, they won’t know any better they’re also a vector for a variety of diseases, like rabies (which TNR groups say is VERY UNLIKELY (????)) toxo, and FIV

In my state (VA), in 2019 they were the 4th MOST TESTED ANIMAL FOR RABIES. People (especially kids) are more likely to approach a cat of unknown vax history than a wild animal - putting people at risk. In 2016, more ppl needed rabies shots bc of cats than any other animal.

(Yet, groups like @alleycatallies repeatedly share misinformation saying feral cats are NOT a rabies risk putting their caretakers at RISK!)

Lastly, while TNR claims they want what we want - to reduce feral cat numbers - it’s ironic to me that many TNR groups & advocates tell people NOT to take unwanted/feral cats to shelters - and even ENCOURAGE people that cats are “better off outside” than they are at a shelter

Meaning they’re just telling people they should dump their cats - which is what TNR claims they DONT want. Seems a little backwards to me, doesn’t it?

Sorry for this disgustingly long thread - if you made it to this end tweet, thanks for buckling in, and remember - cats & the environment benefit from cats being indoors/on a leash, support your local shelters, bc they can only help if we help them, & TNR doesn’t actually help.