an interview with SIFI's Founder, Elena Bass
~ transcribed and edited by Esther Koslow - published by SRAC (Shelter Reform Action Committee)
Some of our readers may be unfamiliar with the acronym “TNR.” It refers to a method of controlling the free-roaming cat population in any given area, and stands for “Trap/Neuter/Return.”
Here’s how Neighborhood Cats (New York’s leading feral cat interest group,) and the Staten Island Feral Initiative (a Staten Island-based TNR education and advocacy organization) explain the need for TNR:
The Problem: Too Many Cats Living on the Streets
Tens of thousands of street cats live in the alleyways, backyards, and outdoor spaces of New York City. They are the offspring of lost or abandoned pet cats and, unneutered, they go on to spawn new generations. These cats often group themselves together in packs known as “colonies.” Many of their nuisance behaviors can be attributed to instinctual behaviors that would likely cease if they were sterilized. These behaviors include noise from fighting and mating, the perpetual birthing of kittens, and the smell from the spraying of pheromone-laced urine.
Because the majority of these cats are not socialized to humans, they are not candidates for adoption. The breeding of these street cats not only creates a neighborhood crisis, it also results in more cats and kittens entering the shelters — taking away cage space (for the ferals) and homes (for the friendly cats) that would otherwise go to the cats and kittens already there, awaiting adoption. Most feral cats and kittens taken in at City shelters [run by Animal Care & Control] are killed because they are not adoptable as house pets.
Beside the humane cost of needless killing, the City must shoulder higher costs for municipal animal control. Throughout NYC, TNR is proving effective in humanely managing feral cat colonies and reducing their numbers over time.”
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| Elena Bass |
We recently interviewed ELENA BASS, Founder and Director of the Staten Island Feral Initiative, or “SIFI,” to learn more about the importance of TNR as part of a comprehensive approach to achieving a No-Kill animal-care system.
Elena emphasizes that, "You don't need to be a cat-lover to support or to practice TNR. You simply need to share the goal of fewer cats on our streets."
