News
Update: Candlelight Vigil Set for Feral Cats in Downey
December 08, 2008, 8:48PM MT
By Jennifer S Hayes
Alley Cat Allies Calls on Officials to Treat Downey Cats Humanely
Alley Cat Allies Calls on Officials to Treat Downey Cats Humanely
UPDATE - December 11: Nancy Peterson, Feral Cat Program Manager for the Humane Society of the United States has sent Supervisor Knabe a letter asking that the County open the buildings at Rancho Los Amigos and that he allow FailSafe 4 Cats to continue feeding the cats. She recommends he view their video on how to properly manage feral cats.
She also noted that many communities successfully use TNR, citing "Not only is TNR effective, it is cost-saving as well as life-saving.
Dec. 10: Update from FailSafe, The feeders of the Rancho cats are having a candle light vigil Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at the corner of Imperial Highway and Rives in Downey (about 20 minutes southeast of downtown Los Angeles).
Dec. 9 Update from FailSafe, which has maintained the cats for four years: The cats have been trapped under the abandoned buildings at Rancho Los Amigos in Downey as part of an ongoing effort by LA County to rid the 164-acre property of a well-maintained colony of cats that has been there for many years. FailSafe rescue group has maintained the colony for four years and now is being prevented from feeding them or providing water or trapping them.
Dec. 9 message from the Office of LA County Supervisor Don Knabe:
The following email was set up by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control to assist in finding homes for the Rancho feral cats. All of the cats will be spayed/neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated prior to their release. If you or someone you know would like to help one or more of these cats please contact the Department at animalinfo@animalcare.lacounty.gov
For full details, please visit ranchocats donations to aid in rescue of these cats can be made here
To voice your objection to the Office of LA County Supervisor Don Knabe about this inhumane treatment of animals, please contact:
Aaron Nevarez
Office of Supervisor Don Knabe
(213) 974-4444 Office
(213) 626-6941 FAX
anevarez@lacbos.org[/b]
Press release provided courtesy of Alley Cat Allies
BETHESDA - Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for stray and feral cats, today urged Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe to lift a cruel feeding ban on a colony of feral cats at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California, and to allow the colony’s caregivers to continue their humane neuter, vaccinate, and return program for the cats.
Volunteers at Rancho Los Amigos have cared for the cats on the property for years, providing food and veterinary care out of their own pockets and working hard to ensure reproduction is stopped through Trap-Neuter-Return, said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies. This successful program should be allowed to continue.
Robinson said Alley Cat Allies has launched an online action center to encourage supporters nationwide to voice their support for the longtime Rancho Los Amigos Trap-Neuter-Return program.
Knabe’s plan to send the cats to a shelter where the only positive outcome for an animal is adoption makes no sense, she continued. Feral cats are members of the domestic cat species, but they are not socialized to humans and are not candidates for adoption. Feral cats are almost always killed immediately in animal shelters.
Robinson noted that caregivers have been threatened with fines and other action if they continue to feed the cats on the property.
Feeding bans are inherently cruel to animals, and are counterproductive, she said. They only serve to encourage roaming the cats will become more visible as they search for a new food source.
Knabe is greatly misguided on feral cats, said Robinson. The catch and kill approach is not only cruel, it’s ineffective, because intact cats will move in and begin the breeding cycle all over again. There are simple and humane ways to ensure cats and people coexist peacefully.
We urge Los Angeles County to work with the local caregivers and feral cat groups and enact policies that are beneficial for the cats and people in the community.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Politely contact Supervisor Don Knabe to request that the County cease trapping the cats and once again allow Fail-Safe representatives to continue feeding and practicing TNR in the colony.
2. You can support Fail-Safe 4 Felines, the group that has been maintaining the Rancho Los Amigos colony, through donations or adoptions.
For more information:
• Locked Out!
• Rancho Los Amigos Cats Blog
• Fail-Safe video on YouTube
• Best Friends Feral Cat Program Community
• Feral Cat Resources
Posted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends staff; update posted by Sandi Cain, Best Friends Network Volunteer
Photo credit: provided courtesy of Fail-Safe 4 Felines