Published in The Green Bay Press Gazette on January 25, 2018
Recent public remarks from the veterinarian and animal control communities have brought to light the great success of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in the Green Bay area for community cats, often called feral or outdoor cats. The results are fantastic, adding proof to why TNR is the humane, effective approach for community cats.
Carried out by animal control officer Monica Huff, this program works because it’s understood that unowned, unsocialized cats are never going to be adopted, and that TNR is the only lifesaving solution.
TNR doesn’t constitute abandonment. Returning cats to their outdoor home after they’ve been spayed or neutered and vaccinated is not abandonment. They’re simply being returned to their home where they’ve lived and thrived happily their entire lives. Plus, most Americans reject the idea of killing cats. An April 2017 poll showed 86 percent of Americans prefer to leave cats outside than have them killed.
TNR is also sound public policy. It leads to reduced shelter intake and less killing. Fewer calls to animal control agencies translates directly to taxpayer savings. Municipalities use more taxpayer money for “euthanasia” than they do for TNR. Instead of the cruel and endless cycle of impounding cats in shelters, where virtually 100 percent of community cats are killed, animal shelters can instead focus on other lifesaving work.
This community should be proud to be amongst thousands of others who conduct TNR. It is, after all, the only humane and effective approach for cats who live outdoors among us.
Becky Robinson
President and Founder
Alley Cat Allies