03-29-2016, 05:38 PM
A post from the Threatened Species Commissioner on why TNR is not viable in Australia;
Why can't we trap, neuter and release (#TNR) #FeralCats instead of euthanising them? This is a question I get asked on Facebook and Twitter by lots of passionate people. And I recognise and acknowledge that passion. I care deeply about animals and animal welfare and have been a cat owner for most of my life. So it's a question I've asked myself as well.
Why isn't #TNR an ethically acceptable way of reducing #FeralCats in Australia? Why do we euthanise cats as part of the fight against #extinction? The answer is that #TNR is not justifiable, effective or humane across Australia's vast expanses. It also doesn't solve the problem of ongoing predation in the places where our animals are being driven to #extinction by #FeralCats. Further, the stress and discomfort of #TNR is not always humane for #FeralCats, particularly in regional and remote areas where long journeys would be needed to transport feral cats, in cages, back to neutering facilities.
I recently reviewed a 2014 report from the Parliament of NSW which weighed up arguments for and against #TNR. The report assessed international evidence of #TNR's viability and effectiveness. Key to it's findings were that for #TNR to work, it needed to be: (i) with small populations of cats; (ii) in closed systems and confined locations; (iii) in places removed from native wildlife; and (iv) in places where native animals had evolved to live with predators like cats. None of these necessary conditions for effective #TNR are the case across this vast continent, where Australia's bilbies, bandicoots, night parrots and rock-wallabies need saving (as well as another 120 Australian animals at risk from #FeralCats).
Millions of #FeralCats are roaming across Australia's millions and millions of square kilometres. And Australia and Antarctica are the only continents on Earth where cats did not evolve with native wildlife, so our native animals have no natural responses or adaptions.
The report also found that to succeed, #TNR needed to achieve very high sterilisation and adoption rates. #FeralCats have spread across 99.6% of Australia's vast expanse. Catching and sterilising millions of #FeralCats across Australia, enough to see feral cat populations reduce, would be impossible. So #TNR is not an option if we really want to save our wildlife from harm and #extinction.
What did the report find to be humane and effective in addressing #FeralCats? On the basis of the scientific evidence and humaneness measures, and considering the places where our #ThreatenedSpecies are at risk, the RSPCA Australia was quoted in the conclusion as finding that "targeted and ongoing lethal control in priority areas, where adverse environmental impacts are highest" was the most cost effective and humane approach. This is also our approach, to euthanise feral cats in high-value conservation areas in a humane, effective and justifiable manner. The RSPCA found that #TNR would only be justifiable, effective and humane in "well-defined" areas where the cats have "limited impact on wildlife". And even then, it added that such a strategy would be "difficult to recommend" as a long-term option given the opportunity costs. In other words, the only places where #TNR would be worth considering was places where our wildlife is not at risk from #FeralCats. And even then, the money would be better spent on education about responsible pet-ownership.
This is why the #ThreatenedSpecies Strategy's feral cat targets to 2020 include: five new feral-cat free islands, ten new large feral-cat free fenced areas, 12 million hectares of best practice feral cat management in open landscapes, and at least two million #FeralCats culled nation-wide. And as always, within these targets we are focused on high-value conservation areas and committed to action that is humane, effective and justifiable.
A link to the report is below if you'd like to read it.
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/…/Feral...0do%20trap…
PestSmart - Invasive Animals CRC, Invasive Species Council
Why can't we trap, neuter and release (#TNR) #FeralCats instead of euthanising them? This is a question I get asked on Facebook and Twitter by lots of passionate people. And I recognise and acknowledge that passion. I care deeply about animals and animal welfare and have been a cat owner for most of my life. So it's a question I've asked myself as well.
Why isn't #TNR an ethically acceptable way of reducing #FeralCats in Australia? Why do we euthanise cats as part of the fight against #extinction? The answer is that #TNR is not justifiable, effective or humane across Australia's vast expanses. It also doesn't solve the problem of ongoing predation in the places where our animals are being driven to #extinction by #FeralCats. Further, the stress and discomfort of #TNR is not always humane for #FeralCats, particularly in regional and remote areas where long journeys would be needed to transport feral cats, in cages, back to neutering facilities.
I recently reviewed a 2014 report from the Parliament of NSW which weighed up arguments for and against #TNR. The report assessed international evidence of #TNR's viability and effectiveness. Key to it's findings were that for #TNR to work, it needed to be: (i) with small populations of cats; (ii) in closed systems and confined locations; (iii) in places removed from native wildlife; and (iv) in places where native animals had evolved to live with predators like cats. None of these necessary conditions for effective #TNR are the case across this vast continent, where Australia's bilbies, bandicoots, night parrots and rock-wallabies need saving (as well as another 120 Australian animals at risk from #FeralCats).
Millions of #FeralCats are roaming across Australia's millions and millions of square kilometres. And Australia and Antarctica are the only continents on Earth where cats did not evolve with native wildlife, so our native animals have no natural responses or adaptions.
The report also found that to succeed, #TNR needed to achieve very high sterilisation and adoption rates. #FeralCats have spread across 99.6% of Australia's vast expanse. Catching and sterilising millions of #FeralCats across Australia, enough to see feral cat populations reduce, would be impossible. So #TNR is not an option if we really want to save our wildlife from harm and #extinction.
What did the report find to be humane and effective in addressing #FeralCats? On the basis of the scientific evidence and humaneness measures, and considering the places where our #ThreatenedSpecies are at risk, the RSPCA Australia was quoted in the conclusion as finding that "targeted and ongoing lethal control in priority areas, where adverse environmental impacts are highest" was the most cost effective and humane approach. This is also our approach, to euthanise feral cats in high-value conservation areas in a humane, effective and justifiable manner. The RSPCA found that #TNR would only be justifiable, effective and humane in "well-defined" areas where the cats have "limited impact on wildlife". And even then, it added that such a strategy would be "difficult to recommend" as a long-term option given the opportunity costs. In other words, the only places where #TNR would be worth considering was places where our wildlife is not at risk from #FeralCats. And even then, the money would be better spent on education about responsible pet-ownership.
This is why the #ThreatenedSpecies Strategy's feral cat targets to 2020 include: five new feral-cat free islands, ten new large feral-cat free fenced areas, 12 million hectares of best practice feral cat management in open landscapes, and at least two million #FeralCats culled nation-wide. And as always, within these targets we are focused on high-value conservation areas and committed to action that is humane, effective and justifiable.
A link to the report is below if you'd like to read it.
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/…/Feral...0do%20trap…
PestSmart - Invasive Animals CRC, Invasive Species Council
