She is one individual whose care could easily fund a small animal sanctuary for at least a year, or start untold TNR efforts, or provide clean water to thousands of people. My inbox this month has informed me that November is Vegan Awareness Month! And Diabetes Awareness Month. And Adoption Awareness Month. Who knew November was such a potentially-informative month? Here's my attempt to bring it all together in an Animal Person post. MORE

The lawsuit alleges that the City of Albuquerque partnered with animal advocate groups to implement a Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program in which stray or feral cats are trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, and then abandoned at the location at which they were trapped. MORE

” In the piece he made the arguments that one normally makes when arguing against trap-neuter-return (TNR): it encourages more abandonment, it’s ineffective at reducing feral cat populations, the colonies are reservoirs for diseases that can infect people and other species, the cats often suffer from grievous injuries, and the cats kill native wildlife. He also quoted a biologist pointing out how extreme the TNR people are and gave a few examples. MORE

Finally, I was asked to participate in a new TNR group in my town that started largely because of my oodles of questions and setting of policy for Project Treadstone! Just in case you were wondering what an 85-lb red fawn greyhound looks like from the back with a couple dozen acupuncture needles in him. And yes, that's Violet Rays taking up most of his acupuncture bed at the homeopath's office.) The needles between his toes were apparently not of the painless variety. I've had those. MORE

I have mixed feelings about TNR. I come from a large family: five sisters, two brothers and almost everyone has kids. Most of my family lives in Indiana, but thanks to social media we can easily keep in touch. They are all wonderful people and they are all animal lovers. But I’ve learned we love animals in very different ways. Case in point: some of my family members have become active with feral cat colony organizations. MORE

The traditional, supposedly humane answer to the glut of feral cats has been institution of “TNR” programs – trap, neuter, return. Marra and Santella are very much anti-TNR, a view that is shared by others, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), not to mention Birdchick. Mark Gamin, a Cleveland lawyer, likes cats and birds both. He likes books too, which made him the ideal reviewer for Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer. MORE

Stephanie posted the first of a series of guest posts by yours truly about TNR and Project Treadstone over at her immensely popular site at Change.org. Thanks, Stephanie! Speaking of Project Treadstone, Powder Puff, seen below, died over the weekend. Each time I saw him he looked sickly. Sometimes his eyes had discharge, sometimes his coat looked strange, and once he was sleeping and his head was kind of bobbing and it's hard to explain but his shape looked abnormal. MORE

FixNation uses Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), which is a community-based program that involves trapping homeless, free-roaming cats, getting them spayed or neutered, and then returning the cats to the exact spot where they were trapped so they can live out the rest of their natural lives. Assembling all known TNR resources under one roof and applying them to the problem on a massive, full-time scale is something very few other organizations can do.”. MORE

What I do know is that I feel an urgency for the causes I care about that blogging, baking, giving money and doing TNR work simply doesn't satisfy. Why all the quotation marks? Because I've been thinking about the evolution of my own thinking--and languaging--regarding animal rights. Both animal rights groups and animal welfare groups use "compassion" frequently. Then again, so do people who kill animals for a living. MORE

There is a document on the web site of the state department of health pertaining to feral cats: The Department of Health does not endorse or oppose the concept of establishing properly managed cat colonies utilizing trap-neuter-return (TNR) techniques. Since TNR requires scheduled feeding to be successful, it is impossible to carry out with a feeding ban in place. The other day, Minneapolis, Minnesota passed a feral cat ordinance. This got me wondering what other cities were doing. MORE

I rescue, I adopt, I do TNR, and I connect others to resources to do the same. Yesterday , Abby wrote: Off topic, but I was wondering if you have any advice for those of us who are highly emotionally sensitive and also interested in animal welfare issues? I get so sad when I hear about the mistreatment of animals that it really affects me, but at the same time I want to be able to create change in the world. How do you deal with this and diffuse the anger and sadness that you must feel? MORE

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And the TNR/exterminate debate rages on. No Kea were harmed in the making of this story. Image by Duncan). Much has been made in these pages about the havoc that feral cats wreak on native birds. Just yesterday, Mike reported on a study finding that they are responsible for decimating populations of Hawaiian Petrels. Maybe Daleks could be trained to focus on feral cats?). A possible solution may be hidden in recent news from New Zealand. MORE

And when the option is rounding them up and killing them, TNR looks like an especially attractive option. Yesterday, regarding being a minority within a minority , mikey commented (among other things): While I am fairly new subscriber to this blog, therefore not knowing your particular stance, I've often felt like a minority within a minority for my stance on animal birth control. MORE

Today is the launch of. I'm excited to be a blogger for Animal Rights Zone because its target market is people who don't usually subscribe to blogs. Also, it has the added bonus of organizing my content better than I have. The goal is to provide blogospheric content that is easy to find, and from a variety of sources. On the left, you'll see this: Concepts. Project Treadstone. Responsible Policies. Rabbits. More >> Animals. Goats. Horses. Mammals. Buffalo. More >> Category. Ethics. MORE

100% of funds raised provide supportive funds for Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats ( www.kittybungalow.org ), a 501c3 nonprofit all-volunteer organization that rescues, neuters, socializes and find homes for feral kittens while providing outreach and Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR), as well as free and low cost spay neuter services in the underserved Los Angeles areas. MORE

Project Treadstone If anyone in Palm Beach County wants to get involved in the Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) of feral cats, now is the time, as the county's Spay Shuttle is back in business (but for a whopping $40/cat rather than the original $15), and Pahokee ($25/cat) is open as well. MORE