Those indigent animals, so shiftless! I bet THEY are socialists, hoping to suck up resources that those capitalist cats are more efficiently utilizing.
Sorry.
I really have no opinion one way or another, but are there any cites that address the effectiveness of neuter and release? I’m just curious to know if it actually works.
Gah! Stupid spell check. Indigenous! I meant Indigenous!
(All though indigent is more funny)
We have an intensive neuter&release program in our hometown. It sort of works. However, for it to work you need an constant effort of volunteers to catch and neuter cats. (professionals are to expensive). We have that in our town, but it is a constant struggle to attract and keep volunteers. And if you let it slide… Urban areas offer unlimited food (household garbage) to cats, and unchecked, the population of cats is back to old numbers within a year or two, three.
My province has done some research about “feral cats” hunting wildlife near urban area’s. They have caught and tagged cats that hunters swore were feral, to find out more about their spread and movement across the terrain.
Surprisingly, the majority of such feral cats lived with people as pets or as semi-pets on a barn.
That study concluded that there are very, very few true feral cats, and that the majority of the hunting (killing for sport of song birds and endangered smaller mammals) is done by pet cats taking a walk to the wild side.
The American Bird Conservancy has collected extensive studies providing genuine data, not merely assertions and apocryphal accounts. Their web site is here.
Bottom line-- no, TNR does not realize the claims made for it.
Wonderful. Then I’m sure you’ll agree that Crafter_Man is just protecting himself from the immoral behavior of the pet owner who allows his property to arbitrarily destroy another’s.