Feral Cat Provision Poses Major Threat to NYC Birdlife

On July 27 the Mayor's Office, the New York City Council, the NYC Department of Health, and other city agencies announced plans to enhance services for animals in shelters across the city, a noble cause. But a key component to the legislation is a Trap-Neuter-Return program, called TNR for short, which will actively maintain the city's feral cat colonies. TNR programs, which are unfortunately being adopted nationwide, are disastrous for birds and other small wildlife. They are strongly frowned upon by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In a video created by the American Bird Conservancy, Dr. Paul Barrows, a former Army veterinarian, refers to TNR programs as "an ecological disaster."

TNR programs rely on volunteers who actively maintain feral cat colonies by feeding the colony on a daily basis. In addition, the volunteers attempt to trap member cats to spay or neuter them, may treat the cats for disease, and then return them, usually to the area where they were trapped. The new NYC legislation does call for mandatory neutering of free-roaming cats, as well as increased neutering of feral cats, both of which are efforts we should applaud.

Keeping a feral cat colony well fed and in good health, however, serves to increase the number of birds and small creatures the cats will kill. Feral cat colonies mean an abundant number of cats, concentrated in a small area of habitat. As a result, the cats become an out-sized predatory force for that area, 10 to 100 times the density of a similarly sized native predator. Numerous studies conducted over many decades have shown that no connection exists between cat hunger and hunting by cats. Hunting continues, and probably increases, when a cat is in better health. The small islands of habitat in New York City strictly limit the options for birds, resident and migratory, and other small wildlife, leaving them even more susceptible to hunting by feral cats.

Cat advocacy groups often claim that TNR gradually leads to reduction in feral cat colony size. Peer-reviewed scientific studies, unfortunately, do not concur. A 2009 paper published in the journal Conservation Biology cites numerous scientific investigations demonstrating that feral cat colony size did not decrease while under observation for several years. The only colonies that saw a significant reduction in population were colonies where intense efforts at cat adoption were made, according to the paper.

Unfortunately, the New York City program seems designed to take pressure off of shelters. As a result, it is unclear how cat adoption will play a role in NYC's TNR program. In fact, TNR-maintained feral cat colonies often grow as a result of people dumping unwanted cats in their vicinity. Other peer-reviewed scientific papers show that 71-94% of a feral cat population must be neutered in order for the population to decline, a very difficult rate to obtain in large urban feral cat colonies with possibly hundreds of individuals. And maintaining this rate of effectiveness is dependent on no new cats joining the colony.

While feral cat colonies are devastating for birds, they are also no picnic for the cats themselves. Feral cats that are part of a TNR program are still highly susceptible to abuse, disease, car accidents, and other perils. NYC Audubon does not advocate cruel or inhumane treatment of feral cats. Instead, NYC Audubon and Audubon New York advocate a system of trapping, neutering, and relocating feral cats to enclosed facilities where they are truly protected and separated from the natural environment. PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, shares a position similar to our own.

Feral cat population numbers may actually exceed the domestic cat population of 80 million nationwide. Conservative estimates from the US Fish & Wildlife and other sources state that cats kill several hundred million birds a year in the United States. While NYC Audubon does not know the extent of feral cat colonies in the city, recent reports from the summer of 2011 describe Coney Island as overrun by feral cats. And Greenwood Cemetery, a vital bird habitat, has long been colonized by feral cats. If you are aware of a feral cat colony anywhere in the city, please let us know.

While this legislation will likely move forward, NYC Audubon asks for your support in encouraging the Department of Health to develop a TNR program that will incorporate the needs of birds and other city wildlife. One such potential guideline is to ensure that no feral cat colonies are allowed to exist near important resources for migratory birds or endangered or threatened species, as recommended by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. While it is understandable to feel responsibility for feral cats, their wellbeing cannot be at the expense of native birds and wildlife, to which we are indebted for the health, beauty, and ecological integrity of our world.