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West Virginia Bill Proposes State Wide TNR

February 18, 2009, 5:55 MT

By Cheri Moon

Residents urged to ask legislators to support S.B. 6

Residents urged to ask legislators to support S.B. 6

By Best Friends Staff

To West Virginia Residents Only:

Ask your state legislator to support Senate Bill No. 6 today! Best Friends Animal Society supports this legislation.

State Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, has introduced S.B. 6 that will make Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) the legal way to treat homeless cats in West Virginia.

The intent of S. B. 6 is to regulate the care and management of homeless cats because the “population of homeless cats has been increasing in the state at an uncontrollable rate and communities throughout West Virginia have determined that the practice of trapping and euthanizing homeless cats is not effective in reducing their numbers.”

The bill proposes that homeless cat colonies will be under the sponsorship of approved TNR programs such as the Save a Kitty Feral Cat Program based in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Three Minutes Of Your Time Will Save Lives
Contact your legislators today to say you support S. B. 6! An effective letter to legislators needs only three things:

1. Your name and address at the end of your letter AND on the envelope or in the email.
Legislators want to know that you are one of the people they represent. We urge all West Virginia residents to contact their legislators.

2. Ask for specific action
Use the following information or your own words:

A statewide Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program will reduce the number of cats in the environment, decrease the impact on wildlife and humans, and save taxpayer’s money overall.

West Virginia legislators should approve S.B. 6 because it:
• Encourages residents to spay/neuter their pets.
• Effectively identifies and manages homeless cats.
• Contracts with local Animal Control agencies to conserve resources.
• Decreases the number of unwanted or homeless kittens born.
• Reduces the overall cost of dealing with homeless cats.

3. Give reasons and examples
Chose from the list below or share your own. Remember to be always be respectful and avoid being emotional. This is your chance to educate someone about effectively managing homeless cats.

• West Valley City, Utah has saved between $30,000 and $60,000 a year by teaming up on a TNR program. Today, the city provides $20,000 a year toward the project (Hiding in Plain Sight).

• The TNR program of Orange County Animal Services in Florida has been funded by the county since 1995; by 2001, the program had already saved the county more than $650,000 (Hiding in Plain Sight).

• TNR has proven to be the most effective method of reducing the number of homeless cats in a specific area over the long-term. It stops the problem because it stops the breeding.

• TNR saves taxpayers money by reducing homeless cat populations which in most cases end up in municipal shelters and have to be euthanized.

• Homeless cat caregivers, who did not create the overpopulation problem but rather responded to it, are able to preserve and protect the lives of these cats without adding to the problem. These caregivers provide day-to-day monitoring of the colony so that any newcomers can be quickly trapped and sterilized.

• The negative impact of the cats is greatly reduced simply by spaying/neutering and is further reduced as the number of cats decrease. No late-night howling, smelly male urine or unwanted kittens.

Contact Your Legislators Today!
Tell them you support S.B. 6. Thank you for taking action for animals!

Contact Senate Members.

Contact House Members.

Additional Information and Resources
• Learn more about reducing the number of homeless cats.

• Download a manual about the care and feeding of homeless cats.

• Visit Alley Cat Allies for fact sheets, public policy information, action alerts, informational videos, and more from the national clearinghouse for feral cat information.

Photograph by Clay Myers, Best Friends Staff
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff

Comments

Posted February 19, 2009, 8:52AM by rickmcd

Wow, this is very impressive. Go West Virginia.

Posted February 19, 2009, 2:32 by Kelly4cats

I applaud Sen Boley in trying to get this bill passed. My concerns are the language used to do this. Do we have to say cat populations are increasing at an uncontrollable rate. Are we really in a crisis situation? I worry about using this kind of language when talking about feral/stray cats because when used by the wrong person it can do a lot of harm. It reminds of the kind of language that is being used to create the hysteria that is helping spread breed specific legislation which is causing the deaths of so many pitbulls. Pitbulls being rounded up and even taken from their loving homes and destroyed should make all of us sit up and take notice of just what mass hysteria can do. I recently heard a legislator talking about the feral cat "crisis" and we need to do something soon (I'm guessing he meant using lethal means more often) to control their numbers. There are feral cats in every city in America but is this truly a crisis? I get very nervous when I hear people, especially politicians, use words like this because when used by the wrong person they often they have some hidden agenda, some personal gain, for making this claim. Why not say the feral and stray cat problem has been going on for a very long time, wasting limited resources and lives, so it deserves a more economical and longterm solution like TNR.
Another example of hysteria being used to kill animals is when Sara Palin said the wolf popuations had grown out of control in Alaska so it was ok to start shooting them from helicopters. Their numbers have risen but the environment, food source, and the wolves themselves will control their numbers. The time the wolves became a problem is when they started killing livestock. Sara Palin was using this statement which came from ranchers who have lots of political pull there. Using their statements that the wolves are now a problem is very sneaky when she knows these people's opinons are completely biased. Sarah Palin knows all she has to do is say the wolf population is out of control, use these kinds of words and create hysteria, and the rest of the unknowing public will go right along with it. This is another reason to stay away from using extreme language like this when talking about animals because when the wrong people use it more animals will die.

Posted May 02, 2009, 3:29 by jmuhj

While Kelly4cats has raised some very valid and important concerns, I also hope this legislation passes, and that it will be used as a model by all other states. TNR WORKS. It's cheaper than "euthanasia", and it's far, far more humane. GO WEST VIRGINIA!