Need for education never greater...

Ms. Kuruziak's (Niagara Wildlife Haven) letters to the Editor in the Welland Tribune on Feb 20 and March 4 are an indicator that there has never been a greater need for community outreach and education on the issue of the feral and homeless cat crisis sweeping the Niagara region and beyond.

Ms. Kuruziak’s comment that the proposed PC community-wide TNR program is 'a poorly thought out plan to spend taxpayers money on just 20 feral cats’ is both puzzling and erroneous. As Ms. Kuruziak was never present during any of the meetings with city staff, the Welland and District Humane Society or the three presentations made to Mayor Badawey and members of council, she does not possess any first hand knowledge of the various components of our proposal. Any funding granted will be used to help pay for the sterilization of as many feral and homeless cats as possible. Depending on the price that we are able to negotiate with sympathetic veterinarians this could be upwards of 50 cats in year one of the plan from these funds alone. Based on our research this proposal will in fact result in savings to the taxpayer over the long term, as well as being a humane and ethical solution.

Ms. Kuruziak seems to be unaware that our proposed community wide TNR program, and all that it entails with respect to the dedicated year round care, assessment of cats/kittens for potential adoption, carefully monitored feeding and seasonally appropriate shelter is only one component of the ultimate strategy to stop the flow of unwanted cats and kittens being abandoned outdoors or relinquished to a shelter. We, along with NAfA and CAAN are actively working towards implementation of all of the various components required to create a ‘No Kill’ community, a model that will over time eliminate the use of euthanasia as a primary method of animal control.

Ms. Kuruziak’s statement that these cats are not indigenous wildlife and should therefore not be afforded any protection smacks of nativism, a theory which purports that an animal’s value stems from its lineage and that a species worth is determined from being at a particular location first. We disagree and feel that all living creatures deserve both respect and protection.

This tragic situation has been created by human neglect. It is a public problem demanding a public solution. All the stakeholders within a community must collaborate to create long term solutions, including implementation of programs that will address the root causes of the problem itself. No matter what biases we all bring to the table, the continued destruction of unwanted and abandoned companion animals is never going to accomplish this.