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NYC Feral Cat Council Takes TNR to Next Level The first meeting of the newly formed New York City Feral Cat Council was held on February 24, 2004, at the Association of the Bar of the City of NY under the auspices of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. Representatives from all NYC organizations with significant Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs were represented, including the ASPCA, the Humane Society of NY, NYC Animal Care & Control, Neighborhood Cats, Kitty Caretakers of Queens, CSM Stray Foundation (USA), Urban Cat League and Le Cats on the Water. Formally joining the Council was also the Queens shelter, Animal Haven.
The Feral Cat Council, to hold quarterly meetings, represents a significant development for NYC's street cats for reasons well beyond its productive first gathering. TNR is a uniquely community-oriented approach, especially when practiced on a large scale in situations involving great numbers of animals (here in NYC, there are at least tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of feral cats). One organization necessarily relies upon and impacts others as the work progresses. For example, when Neighborhood Cats conducts a mass trapping, the free spay/neuter services of the ASPCA or Humane Society of NY are brought into play, as well as the policies of NYC Animal Care & Control in approving the maintenance of managed feral colonies. As another example, the more standardized TNR groups are in their requirements of caretaker training, the more the system as a whole can know what to expect from those who seek to use its services. It's fitting that the Feral Cat Council is a project of the Mayor's Alliance, an umbrella organization whose purpose is to bring about the end of the killing in our city's shelters. United action, while difficult and sometimes time-consuming, is an essential ingredient for a community to move ahead in turning around a desperate, chronic situation where thousands of lives are needlessly lost every month. Much of the problem in New York stems from the street cat population, which contributes at least 50 percent of the kittens flowing into local shelters. These kittens, if not euthanized themselves, take away spots in homes from other shelter animals who might otherwise have been adopted. With traditional rescue groups and shelters focused on increasing adoption while Feral Cat Council members find improved ways to end the birth of unwanted animals on the streets, No Kill in NYC has become an attainable reality.
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The
Feral Cat Council has formed for the purpose of sharing information among
TNR groups, coordinating services, and promoting the use of TNR. At the
first meeting, the organizations shared the details of each others'
programs, agreed to launch a web site to list all TNR-related services
available to the public from Council members, agreed to explore a poster
campaign promoting the Council and the use of TNR, and formed an online
discussion group for Council members and feral cat activists. In
addition, extensive discussion took place on the obstacles and challenges
now facing the TNR movement in NY as well as possible solutions.