FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — There could be some unrest in Fond du Lac’s animal kingdom.
“It’s a very heated topic, if you want to start a lot of animal people, start to talk about TNR,” Renee Webb, the executive director of Critter Junction in Fond du Lac, said.
TNR stands for “trap, neuter, release,” which is a strategy that traps feral cats, spays or neuters them, and then releases them back into the wild where they can no longer repopulate.
Some in the community think it could be a potential solution to the city’s feral cat problem, which the Fond du Lac Humane Society cited as one reason they temporarilystopped accepting strays in March.
“The feral cat problem in the City [sic] is very bad,” the humane society said in a statement to NBC 26 in March.
Webb andothers in the city think TNR could be a solution.
“Cats that are living in the community. And in every community, they’re here and they’re going to continue to reproduce,” Webb said. “As they continue to reproduce, more cats kill more birds; they kill more wild animals; they wreak more havoc on the community. So what we’re talking about is trying to reduce that population and not let it continue to increase.”
But, Laura DeGolier with Fond du Lac Bird City said this could harm the bird population.
“Any cat that is wild…they're not native to the United States,” DeGolier said. “They're an invasive species essentially. And their habit is to hunt and they hunt birds. Whether they eat them or not, they still hunt birds, that's a part of their nature, their DNA.”
Fond du Lac received the designation of “Bird City” in 2012, which means the city does an outstanding job of conserving the bird population. Just a few years later, it received the “High Flyer” distinction, which means the city goes above and beyond for the birds.
DeGolier said a trap neuter release program could jeopardize their “High Flyer” status.
According to Bird City USA, which gives cities this designation, cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds and kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds every year in the U.S.
Would a TNR program help? It depends who you ask.
A study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Animals found that the feral cat population at the University of Central Florida declined by 85% in 16 years using a TNR program.
However,a study conducted by The North Utah Valley Animal Services Special Service District found the opposite—that TNR was not effective in controlling the population.
While a study by Texas A&M Universityfound that the effectiveness of TNR or euthanasia is dependent on the needs and environment of the community.
DeGolier suggested a “trap neuter adopt” program to get cats off the streets, but Webb says keeping feral cats in houses won’t work.
“It really is a wild animal,” Webb said.
But… Webb and DeGolier both say they’re committed to working together toward a solution that helps all of the animals. DeGolier said they plan to present that solution to the city attorney in the coming week.
