Cats & Trap, Neuter, Release

Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) is a program by which feral cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, and then released back into the environment. Rather than immediately reducing feral cat numbers through removal, TNR practitioners hope to slowly reduce populations over time.

The scientific evidence regarding TNR clearly indicates that TNR programs are not an effective tool to reduce feral cat populations. Rather than reducing populations, studies have shown that feral cat colonies persist and may actually increase in size even with TNR programs in place.

TNR programs fail because they do not operate in an enclosed system and cannot spay or neuter a sufficient number of cats to affect feral cat numbers at the population level. Despite the good intentions of many involved in TNR programs, TNR has been found to be an ineffective use of time, money, and resources.

For example, one evaluation of two long-term TNR programs in California and Florida indicated that “any population-level effects were minimal.” The team of researchers concluded that “no plausible combination of [conditions] would likely allow for TNR to succeed in reducing population size.”

Once feral cats are spayed or neutered, they are then abandoned back into the environment to continue a feral existence. Feral cats continue to pose a risk to birds, other native wildlife, and public health.

While they may receive veterinary treatment and vaccination when they are first captured as part of a TNR program, feral cats typically do not receive the ongoing care that helps them live long, healthy lives. TNR programs may lack the resources for testing and vaccination, and recapturing cats is extremely difficult. Any ongoing illnesses, such as ticks, respiratory infections, or ringworm, can’t be treated on a one-time basis, and cats may not be re-vaccinated.

Not only is this systematic abandonment inhumane to the cats, but it also perpetuates numerous problems, such as wildlife predation, transmission of disease, and property destruction.

• Barrows 2004: Professional, ethical, and legal dilemmas of trap-neuter-release
• Castillo and Clarke 2003: TNR ineffective in controlling cat colonies
• Foley et al. 2005: Impacts of TNR programs on populations of feral cats
• Jessup 2004: Welfare of feral cats and wildlife
• Longcore et al. 2009: Critical assessment of TNR claims
• Roebling et al. 2014: Rabies prevention and management of cats in TNVR programs

Fact Sheets:

• Feral Cats: Consequences for Humans and Wildlife
• The Evidence Against TNR
• TNR: The Wrong Solution to a Tragic Problem

Reports:

• The Science of Feral Cats: A Report to Pompano Beach, Florida

Letters:

• 2014 ABC and 200 Conservation Groups to U.S. Department of the Interior
• 2014 Society for Conservation Biology & The Wildlife Society to U.S. Department of the Interior
• 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Escambia County, FL
• 2011 ABC to U.S. Department of the Interior
• 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
• 2006 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Seacoast Area Feline Education and Rescue (NH)
• 2003 American Society of Mammalogists to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Position Statements:

• American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians
• American Ornithologists’ Union
• Association of Avian Veterinarians
• Chicago Wilderness
• Cooper Ornithological Society
• Florida Veterinary Medical Association
• Georgia Ornithological Society
• International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
• National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians
• National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• The Wildlife Society

Videos:

• TNR: Bad for Cats, Disaster for Birds