January 28th, 2005
TO: The Board of BC SPCA Directors
CC: Mr. Craig Daniell, CEO

WHEN IS THE BC SPCA GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT FERAL CATS?

It is no secret to the average citizen that there is a cat overpopulation problem in the Province of British Columbia. One needs to look no further than their local SPCA website to determine that there is a never ending list of cats and kittens for adoption. Year after year, decade after decade this sad parade of animals is on display, waiting for one of the slots in the all too few homes available. And every Spring, year after year, decade after decade, there is the urgent, desperate plea from all the SPCA's around the Province begging the public to adopt kittens from their overflowing facilities.

An intelligent person would ask, "why not get to the root of the kitten overpopulation problem? Where do all the kittens come from?

One of the biggest sources of kittens is from feral (wild) cats roaming the back alleys, industrial parks and waterfronts of our cities and rural areas. Most of these cats are not friendly to humans and there are thousands of feral cats all over the Province. A feral female can produce 3 litters a year with an average of 4 kittens each litter. The female cat gestation period is roughly 59 - 65 days. Extrapolate those numbers times hundreds of thousands of feral cats all over the Province and you have an idea of why there are so many kittens.

There are humane ways to prevent reproduction for these feral cats and thus substantially reduce the numbers of kittens born that end up in SPCA facilities. A practice called Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) has met with wonderful success everywhere it has been implemented. Other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States have made progress with Feral Cat Assistance Programs, most notably the San Francisco SPCA - http://www.sfspca.org/feral/index.shtml In our BC SPCA's own words - "eradication or neglect does not work" to solve the feral cat problem in British Columbia. This quote is taken from a BC SPCA feral cat presentation paper in 2001.

To date, our BC SPCA has not initiated a program to deal with this out of control problem. Back in November 2001, the Independent Panel of the Community Consultation Report, making recommendations to the executive of the BC SPCA, stated:

"The public expects the BC SPCA to live up to its name. It is the view of the panel that initiatives that increase the BC SPCA’s ability to prevent cruelty to, and promote animal welfare of animals should be pursued vigorously and transparently."

If a Feral Cat Assistance Program is established by our BC SPCA here are the benefits:

To the BC SPCA:

- within 65 days an immediate reduction in the number of feral kittens entering SPCA's all over the Province;

- within 130 days a further and substantial reduction in kittens entering the SPCA system and a tangible reduction in SPCA expenses associated with kittens; food, vaccines, litter, medical and administration costs;

- less overcrowding in SPCA shelters which atmosphere produces an environment conducive to rapidly spreading contagious diseases;

- less disease and overcrowding equals less euthanasia of kittens and cats;

- more shelter room and time for adult, senior and less adoptable cats;

- less need for SPCA kitten foster homes;

- because less SPCA revenue is spent on bursting SPCA shelters, more resources can then be channelled to different areas of need. ie. dog behaviourists and rehabilitators, groomers, dog walkers, medical care for more animals, upgrading facilities, creating dog play yards, etc. (Branch SPCA staff can be retrained to fill some of these vocations if staff not as busy because numbers are reduced). http://www.sfspca.org/adoption/maddies.shtml.

- hundreds of experienced volunteers, already working in private rescue groups and knowledgeable in feral cat trapping and colony management, would assist SPCA's around the Province.

To the Community:

- thousands fewer feral cats living in back alleys, industrial parks, vacant lots, waterfront and residential areas

- thousands fewer feral kittens born that concerned individuals must deal with.

To the Feral Cats:

- if they are fixed, using the Trap/Neuter/Return Practice that is widely accepted and acknowledged as a humane policy, a better quality of life since the females are not constantly reproducing and the males are not constantly fighting over territory and females. Cat overpopulation in the Province is gradually reduced through attrition.

Another Spring is rolling around and thousands more kittens are needlessly going to be born and flood into SPCA shelters all over the Province. What is the BC SPCA waiting for?

Sincerely,
Lana Simon