Dear
Friend,
As you're a valued supporter of HSHV and of animals, we'd love to share timely topics on animal welfare with you. Following is the third edition in a regular series of blog posts by HSHV's CEO/President.
11,000 cats are counting, not multiplying.
by Tanya Hilgendorf, CEO/President of the Humane Society of Huron Valley
This spring
marks HSHV’s 10th anniversary of doing Trap, Neuter and Return
(TNR)!
Ten
years ago, HSHV was at the forefront of a new movement to reduce population and end
needless death of outdoor living cats: becoming the first animal shelter in
Michigan to institute our own TNR program. Today, we are very proud to have sterilized over 11,000 cats through
TNR.
When I
started here, we were euthanizing about half of our animals, many perfectly
healthy animals like feral/outdoor living cats. It was tragic, needless death, and it was horrible for our staff and toxic
to the organization.
Euthanasia
is supposed to be a merciful, pain-free death for the suffering. Though I use the term here, I do so
loosely. This wasn’t really
“euthanasia.” The animals did not need
to die and putting down a terrified wild-ish animal is not a pretty process. (Any animal facility still killing healthy
outdoor cats claiming they are providing “humane deaths,” without fear and pain,
is lying.)
But unnecessary
killing is not just inhumane; it can be damaging to the emotional, mental and
spiritual health of the humans doing the work. Particularly those working at a humane society because they love
animals. It is the worst of “raw deals,” creating wounds that go straight to the soul, handed to people already making great sacrifices in a strained, overloaded industry.
Since
1896, HSHV’s purpose has been to respect and protect animal life. So being the community’s exterminator for any
healthy animal also went against our mission and fueled a dysfunctional
organizational culture. We further
learned that it made little sense for the community. Taking in animals surviving perfectly fine on
their own and killing them did not just waste life, it wasted time and
money. It had no lasting positive
impact. The cats brought in year after
year came from the same areas. It was a
revolving door of death.
Instituting
a TNR program was one of our first major thrusts in ending unnecessary
euthanasia and becoming a progressive, healthy, life-affirming
organization. It is an important part of
why we went from saving just 50% of our animals to 95% today.
Plus,
hundreds of outdoor kittens and even adult cats have found loving adoptive homes
though the program. One of my own cats
is a super affectionate ear-tipped “feral” who once lived on
HSHV’s grounds. (Most outdoor cats are
not social enough for indoor life, but sometimes cats dumped or lost outside
have simply reverted to a wild state to survive.)
As
with nearly everything we do, TNR “takes a village” to be successful. It started with our commitment to being true
to our mission, even in the face of some loud and bitter opposition (imagine
someone screaming in your face demanding you kill a beautiful, healthy animal
sitting terrified in a trap), and investing resources into sterilization
instead of euthanasia. Which, by the
way, works out to nearly the same financial cost.
The
dedication of all HSHV’s staff involved in TNR is remarkable. They do hard work with great skill and
fortitude. But the program could also not
be successful without the many extraordinarily kind-hearted volunteers and
community members committed to TNR. Our
community, and many like ours, owe so much to these tough yet compassionate individuals who give selflessly, providing love and protection while creating real and lasting solutions.
In
recent years there’s been a backlash against TNR from critics who call our
fabulous felines an “invasive species,” blaming them for threats to their
favored wildlife and calling for their deaths “by any means necessary."
We, of
course, take huge exception to the language of blame and hate and suggestions
of cruelty and violence toward any animal species. But cats came over with the Pilgrims. If they are “invasive,” so am I and just about everybody I know.
Plus,
the real threat to the birds and butterflies is pollution, pesticides, habitat
destruction and climate change caused by that pesky overpopulated two-footed creature. Cats are just convenient scapegoats.
And
let us not forget that while cats are impressive survivors, their population
problem was caused by humans. Humans who
not only domesticated them thousands of years ago, but who today let them run
loose unsterilized, either to roam or because they are no longer wanted. (Unwanted cats are commonly kicked out of the
house or intentionally left behind when their family moves away). They reproduce. Their off-spring reproduce. And so on…
We
know, and studies prove, that TNR is the only strategy that works and that animal-loving
groups like ours should stand TALL and PROUD for addressing a problem we had no
hand in creating. Thankfully TNR is now becoming
standard across the country and is a key initiative of the “Million Cat
Challenge,” aimed at stopping the mass killing of healthy shelter cats in the
United States.
Also
notable is the growing number of communities, much like the ancient Egyptians,
the Pilgrims and farmers still today, now using TNR cats as a natural way to combat
rodent and related disease issues. (If you're interested, check out our free barn cat adoption.)
By
sterilizing and vaccinating outdoor cats and placing them back in their
location where loving caretakers help provide for their basic needs, we
stabilize and reduce population over time and eliminate a variety of nuisance issues. We also stop the revolving door of death and
replace it with an arch of kindness and compassion.
Good
for the community. Good for the
cats. Good for the soul.
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