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Feral Cats
New Florida Policy Bans TNR
Statement From Dr. Julie Levy, read at the hearing of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) on May 30, 2003, on the proposed policy to eradicate feral cats in Florida:
Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Dr. Julie Levy, and I am an associate professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida. My specialty is feline infectious diseases and feral cat control.
I would like to spend the next few minutes addressing the problem of feral cats in Florida, and will touch on issues raised in the Issue Statement prepared by FWC staff, titled Impacts of Feral and Free-Ranging Cats on Wildlife in Florida. As the report acknowledges, there are many questions that remain unanswered by scientific study, but a number of well-constructed studies have been reported in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. It is unfortunate that the Feral Cat Issue Team overlooked these excellent reports and selected a majority of their references from less rigorous material collected from the Internet, personal communications, and brochures. It remains unclear whether information favorable to non-lethal cat control was intentionally omitted or simply missed in an incomplete review of the literature.
The number of feral cats in the state is unknown, but likely reaches into the millions. A survey performed in Alachua County recently determined that feral cats were fed by 12% of households and represented 44% to the total cat population in the county. Another survey of cat caretakers who presented cats for sterilization in a TNR program revealed that they are intensely bonded to the cats they feed and will not participate in control programs that threaten the welfare of the cats. On the other hand, these same caretakers can be recruited to perform much of the labor involved in controlling cats via sterilization, representing a substantial cost savings compared to government-run programs.
The FWC report states, "In theory, these colonies are managed to extinction by capturing, vaccinating, and altering all cats so that colony members cease reproducing. In practice, however, colonies are usually stable or increasing in size because of a steady influx of new cats." There is no reference supporting this statement, and it is unlikely that the FWC is privy to what usually happens in most colonies. In fact, several scientific reports document the opposite. An 11-year-study of 155 cats managed by a volunteer TNR program in central Florida demonstrated that all 11 colonies decreased in size, and 3 colonies eventually became extinct. By the end of the study, only 23 cats remained. Another study of 132 cat colonies in North Central Florida revealed that most "colonies" consisted of a small family group of cats located on the caretaker's property. While 920 cats were present at the beginning of the study, the number was reduced by TNR to 678 only a year later. Failures of TNR also exist. The most commonly cited study was performed by Dan Castillo in 2001. Although this study has not been published, excerpts have been reported on the Internet. There is another short study in which feral cats were observed for a year in two Florida parks. The original population was reduced by TNR, but this was offset by the arrival of new cats apparently abandoned by cat owners at the highly visible colonies. This suggests that feral cat populations can be reduced via TNR, but that constant vigilance must be maintained to capture newly arriving cats and that colonies should be located in inconspicuous locations. Quoting from the FWC report, "When cats in a colony cease to be fed, the colony disbands. Cat densities in the vicinity of the colony return to a level more easily tolerated by wildlife, and health hazards to wildlife and humans are diminished." This remarkable assertion is not supported by a scientific reference and should be viewed with skepticism.
Let's talk about infectious diseases of feral cats. Perhaps the most astonishing statement of the FWC report is that, "Unvaccinated cats can transmit rabies to wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, and foxes." In the United States, it is well accepted that wildlife species, not domestic animals, are the reservoir for rabies. More than 90% of rabies cases occur in wildlife, with raccoons being the most commonly affected species in Florida. In 2002, cats represented less than 4% of the rabid animals identified in this state. All human cases of rabies in this country during the past decade were contracted from wildlife. When domestic animals were involved, rabies was contracted in foreign countries. Thus, cats may be the victims of wildlife rabies, but are not the cause of it. If the state is serious about controlling rabies, oral vaccination of wildlife would be a more effective strategy than removing feral cats. Regardless, feral cat TNR programs routinely immunize cats against rabies. Another astounding statement is that, "Veterinarians suspect that one of the ways in which feline immunodeficiency virus may have infected Florida panthers is through panthers' consumption of infected domestic cats." Sequencing of viruses isolated from panthers indicates that they are infected not with FIV, but with puma lenti virus, a related virus that is not acquired from domestic cats. A report published from the University of Florida on more than 1,800 feral cats demonstrated only 4% to be infected with feline leukemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus, which is similar to that found in pet cats.
Predation is the most controversial issue surrounding feral cats and it has proved tempting to extrapolate small studies performed elsewhere to the entire state of Florida. Unfortunately, such estimates are usually based on models that have not undergone peer review by the scientific community. This is the case with the most commonly cited predation data from Wisconsin. Although the authors Temple and Coleman never published their findings in a scientific journal, they did publish another report in which the size of cat populations on Wisconsin farms was studied. The only factor affecting the size of these cat populations was the practice of sterilization, which, as expected, resulted in smaller numbers of free-roaming cats. Even the FWC report acknowledges that it is unproductive to engage in a debate about the magnitude of the impact of feral cats on wildlife absent much needed scientific study. Cats have been blamed for damage to wildlife only later to be vindicated when anecdotal observations were studied with more scrutiny. For example, regarding sea turtle losses, the FWC report states, "...depredation by foxes and raccoons has a more significant impact in Florida and depredation by cats should be viewed as occasional, with little consequences for sea turtle populations." Despite this, the FWC continues to list turtles as a species decimated by cats. Other examples include a die-off of songbirds that was eventually linked to Salmonella contamination of improperly cleaned backyard bird feeders, and quail losses that were ultimately proved to be due to a change in park landscaping and not due to feral cats fed in the park. In the Castillo study of more than 80 cats over 1 year, 2 birds were observed to be caught by cats during 11,600 minutes of observation. This is a far cry from the predictions extrapolated from the Wisconsin studies. These few examples demonstrate the need for more study before sweeping policy changes are made. In fact, the FWC report says it best, "Data are not available to accurately assess the long-term impact of cat predation on wildlife populations in Florida. As indicated above, the precision and accuracy of cat population data are unknown. In addition, we do not know current population levels or rates of mortality and productivity for most wildlife species. Thus, it is seldom possible to know whether predation by cats represents a significant impact to wildlife populations." This is a strong statement in the FWC report that should urge caution when policy decisions are undertaken.
Floridians are right to be concerned about the role of feral cats in our society and their impacts on public health, the environment, and animal welfare. Feral cats may number as high as the owned pet cat population. Not surprisingly, decades of hand-wringing over this issue have failed to resolve it. Eradication of feral cats has only been accomplished on small uninhabited islands in which a combination of poisoning, shooting, trapping, and deliberate release of infectious diseases was used over several decades at a cost of millions of dollars. These techniques are obviously inappropriate and ineffective on inhabited mainland locations such as Florida. Feeding of feral cats is a wide-spread activity that crosses all socio-economic strata. Engaging cat feeders in a solution for feral cat control will undoubtably be more productive and economical than warring against them. TNR has been documented to have the desired effect of reducing cat numbers over the long term while remaining a popular alternative with the public. TNR is endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association and has been shown to improve the condition and welfare of individual cats as well as preventing the birth of more kittens.
Current laws give the FWC the authority to protect wildlife without the need to enact sweeping proposals that will eliminate the ability to apply the best solution to each individual situation. As written, the proposal is overly broad, imposes a substantial, unfunded mandate on local government, and impinges on private property rights. More importantly, the proposed solution of eradication is completely untested and is likely to fail. Such proposals beg for rigorous scientific study, detailed environmental impact statements, and the support of Florida citizens before they are considered. Please choose in favor of science and do not establish a new policy today in the absence of it.
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