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The
IDNR no longer opposes “trap-neuter-return” feral cat programs
on land now owned, managed or leased by the agency.
Ledy VanKavage, senior legislative attorney for Best Friends
Animal Society, said the TNR program has the potential to save
millions in taxpayer dollars.
“We believe that Illinois taxpayers deserve a program that is
more animal friendly, most cost-effective, and one that reduces
the burden and bureaucracy on local animal shelters,” VanKavage
said.
The organization reports one peer-reviewed scientific study
showed that in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, a
“trap-neuter-return” program resulted in an average of 54%
decrease from initial population levels of free-roaming cats and
an average 82% decrease from peak levels.
VanKavage said the old method of dealing with feral cats just
wasn’t working.
“We have been trapping and killing cats since what, the 60’s or
70’s, and it really hasn’t worked to decrease the population,”
said VanKavage. “Birth control works.”
According to the National Feline Research Council, the best
available estimate of the population of feral cats in the
country is about 32 million, roughly 76% of which live in urban
areas.
“This is a welcome change to DNR’s policy that mirrors state
law’s embrace of TNR and will allow for greater use of
trap-neuter-return programs to better manage cat populations
around the state,” said state Sen. Linda Holmes D-Aurora.
Founded in 1984, Best Friends Animal Society is an animal
welfare organization that has a goal to end the killing of dogs
and cats in America’s shelters by 2025.
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