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Press Release
For Immediate Release: December 8, 2009
Contact: ELIZABETH PAROWSKI, eparowski@alleycat.org or 240-482-1984; FRANCIE ISRAELI, fisraeli@johnadams.com or 202-207-1134
ALLEY CAT ALLIES CALLS ON CALIFORNIA COURT TO
REVERSE DECISION ON TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN
Court Ruling Will Make Program More Difficult in Los Angeles – But Still Possible
BETHESDA, MD —Alley Cat Allies today assured supporters that it was closely monitoring a
decision by a California trial court, that would prohibit the City of Los Angeles from sponsoring or
promoting Trap-Neuter-Return for feral cats until it performed an environmental review. Private or
non-profit groups performing Trap-Neuter-Return are not affected by this decision.
“We are calling on the city to appeal this terrible decision,” said Becky Robinson, president of
Alley Cat Allies. “The decision bans the city from continuing to provide any sort of support for
Trap-Neuter-Return, pending an unnecessary environmental review under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This law was intended to apply to activities like
highway construction, not Trap-Neuter-Return.”
Robinson noted that the ruling does not affect the ability for private or non-profit groups carrying
out Trap-Neuter-Return, but will prevent these groups from using the municipal funded
spay/neuter vouchers for spay or neuter of feral cats. City-funded animal shelters would be barred
from providing any kind of logistical support or education, such as giving out literature.
“Trap-Neuter-Return is a lifesaving program that benefits feral cats and the community by ending
the cycle of breeding and making cats healthier and better neighbors,” Robinson said. “If the city
ends its support for Trap-Neuter-Return, more cats will be pushed into animal shelters, where they
will be killed – a vicious cycle that has not lowered the cat population in several decades. We are
certain that in a city as progressive as Los Angeles, residents would prefer their taxes be used for
neutering cats, not killing them.”
Robinson noted that a number of municipalities – including several California communities –
currently support Trap-Neuter-Return, which is humane, more effective and less costly than
programs that rely on “catch and kill.”
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About Alley Cat Allies
Alley Cat Allies is the nation’s leading advocate for stray and feral cats. Their website is www.alleycat.org.
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