February 3rd, 2005
TO: The Board of Directors - BC SPCA
c.c.: Mr. Craig Daniell, CEO

The following is a quote from a resource paper located on the Alley Cat Allies website -
(http://www.alleycat.org/resources_ancare.html) . This organization is the nationally recognized leading authority on feral cats in the United States and is a strong advocate of the Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) practice.

"Another factor that inspires some people to want to tame the feral cats they care for is the misperception that feral cats live short, miserable lives. This myth has been swallowed whole by too many groups, including some of the most prominent animal organizations in the country. The truth is that the well-being of feral cats is most compromised by behaviours associated with mating and giving birth to endless litters of kittens. Spaying and neutering significantly changes the picture. Male cats no longer fight and roam. Female cats no longer bear kittens. Vaccination ensures a higher level of health. Feral cats in managed colonies frequently live 10 years and longer."

The truth of this statement is borne out by the wildly successful results that all groups find who have started a Trap/Neuter/Return program. Why else would thousands of these TNR programs be springing up all over the United States and Canada? Why else would the San Francisco SPCA have embraced the practice after their years of research into what to do about the feral cat problem? The practice works ! It substantially lowers cat overpopulation, humanely, in a relatively short time frame. It eases concerns for animal loving residents in a community. It is a compassionate practice to alleviate the suffering of unspayed and unneutered feral cats by improving the quality of the rest of their lives. It makes good financial business sense for an animal agency to invest in a program that will substantially reduce shelter overcrowding, high euthanasia costs and free up staff time for other much needed areas. Lastly, it reflects well on any animal agency that incorporates such an empathetic practice in to its animal welfare approach.

Unlike the numerous small, volunteer animal rescue organizations throughout British Columbia, the BC SPCA has not implemented a Feral Cat Assistance Program in the Province. It continues to ignore the problem. Operating on tiny budgets, the small groups have managed to spay and neuter thousands of feral cats in BC. The groups are on the front lines providing the public with helpful information and resources. In the meantime, there is no help for feral cats from the BC SPCA.

I would like to ask the Board of Directors why the BC SPCA continues to ignore feral cat overpopulation and suffering when there is an obvious accepted, proven, humane solution?

Please see photos (link below) of what has been done right here in the BC Lower Mainland by a private feral rescue group. These are feeding stations for feral cats who have been fixed by the TNR practice and who are now experiencing a better quality of life because of it.

Sincerely,
Lana Simon