NYC Declares War on Cats... (in memory of Susie and Blackie)
Heads up all of you cat lovers, New York City is getting ready to declare war on cats.
“What!” you say. “Impossible – they would never do that. The City has said they are making wonderful changes to the animal shelter system. Speaker Christine Quinn said so in her special letter to me."
Well I hate to disabuse you of this notion, but you are wrong. Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of these precious beings? If not, then you must stand up to this sinister bill.
Speaker Christine Quinn, who has never been a friend to animals, has said that the new bill, Intro 655, will make “key changes” to the animal shelter system.
Yes, she is definitely right about that -- it will make killing cats so much easier and legal.
The bill states:
d. Every owner of a cat who permits such cat to roam outside the interior of the owner's dwelling shall have such cat sterilized. At the request of employees or authorized agents of the department, owners shall provide proof satisfactory to the department that a cat found roaming has been sterilized.
Christine Quinn states in a recent letter
“[the bill] require owners to spay or neuter any cats that they own that roam freely outdoors;”
OK - so let's discuss this bill and what it really means:
There is no way for anyone to tell if a free-roaming cat belongs to someone, is feral, or abandoned and homeless. Now that Animal Care and Control (ACC) is building up its Field Services, they will have more of a capacity to pick up all free roaming cats and bring them to the ACC where they will most likely be killed. If a cat is deemed sick or dangerous, there is no waiting period for killing.
We are going back to the days of "round 'em up and kill 'em."
While it would be possible to tell if a male cat is neutered, it is not so easy with a female cat unless there is a good vet on premises. But it is highly doubtful they will take the time to check this. And besides, what will they do with the cats who are neutered -- after they pick them up? Will they put them in another “holding area” -- and for what -- to notify whom? No, this clearly does not make sense.
People who allow their cats to go out are irresponsible and/or ignorant of the dangers their cat may encounter. They think that nothing can happen to them. Cats have nine lives. Other sources for free-roamers are food stores that house store cats illegally in violation of Department of Health regulations and generally do not neuter them. It is highly unlikely that any of these cats are micro chipped or wear identification collars to allow them to be returned to their owners.
It is hard to wrap my brain around how those who "own" these cats will be identified and fined from $250 to $500. IF they are identified, rather than to pay this huge fine, they will likely deny the cat is theirs.
Beware the Cat Hater: When cat haters learn of this new law, they will be out in force calling the ACC to pick up these outside cats because of the threat to public health and safety.
It has happened before …. Too many times.
In the early 1990s, I was part of a small group of people who was involved with a rescue of homeless cats on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The Super of one the buildings had two cats whom he loved – Blackie and Susie. His problem was that he let them out to free roam. We warned him about a neighbor who was overheard plotting to trap all the cats and bring them to the ASPCA, which had the animal control contract at the time. I was especially fond of Susie – she was a beautiful Calico Tortie and would always come out to hang out with me when it was my turn to feed the cats. We had a very special relationship. One day, Susie and Blackie went missing. Tom, the Super, did not know where they were. We went to the ASPCA to complain and sure enough, they had been taken there by his neighbor who claimed they were his cats so they could be killed immediately. He was taken at his word. By the time we got there and saw the paper work, it was past 48 hours and the erasures on the intake form now indicated they were "strays." So transparent. So obvious.
Tom was heart broken and I believe it hastened his death, which occurred shortly after.
This same scenario will happen all over the city. It is legalized killing.
Punitive mandatory spay/neuter has been shown not to work. In communities that passed this kind of legislation back in the mid 1990s when it was very popular, the killing rate did not decrease and the adoption rate did not increase. Since it is over 15 years, there has been enough time to gather statistics for analysis.
Instead of a punishing law, as is being proposed, a much better life-affirming solution would be for the City to offer free spay/neuter services to anyone who wants it. Get the word out. Put money into an advertising campaign to encourage people to neuter their cats.
Don't punish the cats. They did nothing wrong!
Don't punish the cats. They did nothing wrong!
That is what is missing from this bill. Staff is being increased to increase the killing, but no life-affirming programs are being added.
There is still a chance to reach out to those council members who have put their names on this bill and to tell them why it is not good.
Because this new bill also repeals the legislation passed in 2000, which mandated shelters in all the boroughs -- this meant to add shelters in Queens and Bronx -- since there were already shelters in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island -- there is no additional space to take the cats (and dogs), which will help to facilitate and increase the killing.
A recent law suit against the city was won with the rescue organization, Stray from the Heart (STFH) as plaintiff. Its purpose was to force the city to comply with the law and build the shelters. Instead the city appealed the decision and a judge found that SFTH had no standing. This is a rescue that has been seriously impacted by the lack of shelter space, particularly in Queens. If they were considered not to have standing, it is hard to imagine who might. Cats and dogs cannot sue.
Please come to the Council hearing on the bill, which will be held Friday, September 9th at 10 AM at 250 Broadway -- 16th floor. Testify as to why this bill is bad. You can also write to the Council Members who have sponsored the bill. They may not realize that there are some very dangerous sections in this bill that they should not be supporting.
Dogs have suffered in New York City with threatened breed bans and a prejudice against pit bulls. Now it is the cats who are being victimized.
Please speak out for the Cats of NYC.
This looks like little Susie. RIP sweet girl and you too precious Blackie. We may not have been able to help you two, but we are sure trying to help the others.
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Christine Quinn needs to keep her paws off our wildlife. These animals have as much right to roam the city or anywhere for that matter... as much as we do. She needs to fine people for letting their animals out or go for lack of wanting to care for them. These animals have a right to live and who the hell are we to say or do any different.
ReplyDeleteNew York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, has proven to be so detrimental to animals, in her years as leader of the council, that eight years of a Quinn mayoralty, would most certainly prove to be a nightmare. All the pro animal bills she has blocked, such as "Pet's in Housing", the rodeo bill, the sprinkler bill, humane education, the carriage horse bill, et all, while allowing to pass only the most fraudulent of "pro" animal bills, such as the unenforceable tethering bill, make her anathema to those of us who care about New York City's animals. Her horrid record on human rights, sellout of the LGBT community and her slush fund scandal, that Mayor Bloomberg has seem to forgotten about, further disqualify Quinn from the Mayor's office. We must ignore the pied piper call of supposed pro animal types such as ASPCA President, Ed Sayres and the self-interested real estate, developer, Steve Nislick who urge us to support Quinn and her destructive to the animals, Intro 0655. We must speak out forcefully and often against this Intro and of paramount importance, work together to see that this woman does not attain Gracie Mansion, in 2013.
ReplyDeleteSounds like I won't be patronizing any establishment around NYC for a while. I'll spend my money elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, that's an excellent idea, but please be sure to communicate your intentions to the mayor and city council speaker. They might actually take notice if tourists were to pledge to withhold their travel dollars from NYC until there are positive changes to how NYC animals are treated.
ReplyDeleteHere's a fun read to PROVE how effective TNR programs are.
ReplyDelete"In NYC there are currently 465 registered TNR colonies. When TNR began in these colonies, 6047 cats were present – today, there are 4523 cats present, a decline of approximately 25 percent." (Quoted from an Alley Cat Allies member who was SO proud of this.)
Of those 6,047 cats they've only REDUCED the total by 1,524 cats, about 127 PER YEAR. That's only 0.08% of the 1,806,310 feral-cats within the city's limits. (data taken direct from TNR-advocates' own resources)
Guess how many have been born IN JUST THE LAST 6 MONTHS (hoping like hell that they're not breeding every 4 months). Let's do the math...
(1/2 total = females) 903,155 X 5 (avg. number in a litter) = 4,515,775 NEW CATS. Which lowers the number of them that have been reduced by TNR idiots to only 0.03%. THEY ARE GOING BACKWARD!
Guess how many will be born in another 6 months? (4,515,775 / 2) X 5 = 11,289,438.
Remember. the first 903,155 females are still breeding. For another 4,515,775. Add in the pre-existing 1,806,310, bringing the grand total in just ONE YEAR to 17,611,523 CATS. NEARLY EIGHTEEN MILLION. Which means that TNR groups have only reduced the cat-population by 0.008% of them. That's not even ONE-ONE-HUNDRETH of ONE-PERCENT.
1,806,310 cats become nearly EIGHTEEN MILLION CATS ... IN JUST *ONE* YEAR. Keep in mind too, these are the numbers in JUST ONE CITY.
Catching on yet to how TNR people are just spinning wheels in the sand and accomplishing NOTHING?
Well, they are managing to torture cats and torture or starve-to-death all native wildlife, annihilating the whole native food-chain with an INVASIVE-SPECIES, and spreading deadly or lifelong illnesses to all manner of animals and even humans while doing all this. I guess that's accomplishing something. Including even spreading the plague today.
http://outbreaknews.com/2011/07/29/colorado-stray-cat-tests-positive-plague/
http://www.pagosasun.com/archives/2011/07July/072811/webplague.html
So much for that oft spewed urban myth that cats would have saved everyone from the plague in Europe. If the cats infect the rodents with Toxoplasma gondii, then cats even attract the plague right to your door since the toxo-infected rodents are now attracted to cat-urine. Cats would have only made the plague even more intensive and an even larger disaster. As they will this time around.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2027347/Black-Death-backtrack-Dont-blame-rats-plague-spread-PEOPLE.html
ReplyDeleteThank you for this important information! is there a way to support you from Germany, where Ilive? Pleaee heplthe kitties!!!
ReplyDeleteAl: impressive statistics, but IF the NYC administration provided adequate funding for TNR programs in NYC, the problem would be more under control. And having followed the lists of cats being killed in the ACC shelters there for the last few months on FB, I'd wager a fair proportion weren't feral cats at all. How any city purporting to be civilised can allow its government to finance care and control operations so poorly is beyond me; NYC spends roughly a quarter of your nation's average for such operations per animal per day. Take the cats out, and rat infestation will balloon, too. Nice state of affairs for the 21st century, but maybe not surprising if 17th century attitudes towards felines prevails.
ReplyDeleteSo clearly, "Al" is not a cat person. Perhaps instead of sprouting figures, showing off your maths skills and telling us why TNR doesn't work, you could suggest a few ways in which to help?
ReplyDeleteYou are also forgetting the unfortunate fact that many of those kittens will not live long enough to reproduce as without vet care or a warm home to live in with food on tap, they will either become to sick or manourished and die. Or in fact become hypothermic and die of that. So (as is true in my country which would surely be true as a principle everywhere) that only half of those born (if that) will survive. I don't like to admit it but it's a fact. In many cases, only 1 or 2 from a litter will live to early adulthood. There are also predators like dogs and even cars that these animals may fall victim too. Then there is the competition for food resources where many will not get enough food to survive. Survival of the fittest isn't a load of B.S!
So as a ballpark figure, only 25% or 30% of the new animals added to the population every year will survive. Agreed, this is still an increase which is why the TNR program needs to be far more aggressive than it is to be more effective.
In many cases TNR does work but it needs to be instigated in such a way that entire colonies are being steralised at once. Once a colony is located, there are more often than not, groups of volunteers that feed them so the animals are not hunting native species. Of course, no stray or feral animals is always the preferred option but this means that a very aggressive approach must be taken and all done within a winter season when the animals are not mating/ producing as much. This system can work but it needs some direct, fast attention.
I would also help if people who are irresponsible and don't get their pets desexed in the first place, didn't go and turf their unwanted pet into a colony! Cats are not disposable! People need to realise this and turn them over to another home or someone who can help if they don't want them anymore!
And by the way, rodents are NOT attracted to cat urine. Rodents are prey animals and knowing that a predator like a cat is around will mean they turn tail and run the other way! Would you hang around if you found evidence that a predator likely to eat you was close by??
Ok Al, you have the floor...