The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) warns against these programs in the 2012 Rabies Guide, writing, “The concept of managing free-roaming/feral domestic cats (Felis catus) is not tenable on public health grounds because of the persistent threat posed to communities from injury and disease. While the risk for disease transmission from cats to people is generally low when these animals are maintained indoors and routinely cared for, free-roaming cats pose a continuous concern to communities. Children are among the highest risk for disease transmission from these cats.”
New reports show conclusively that feral cats are the number one decimator of birds and native wildlife, and the carrier of 16 diseases including Rabies, Cat Scratch Disease, and Toxoplasmosis. Do not support the effort to sanction “community cat” programs that are the antithesis of Responsible Pet Ownership. There are newer, and more innovative, methods to humanely care for feral cats; and “community cat” programs ignore these newer methods. Instead, TNR programs imperil our natural resources and risk the public health. The FDOH notes, “Allowing cats to roam free is not in the best interests of the community’s health and deliberate release or abandonment of feral or domestic cats is not sanctioned under Florida’s conservation and cruelty laws. Domestic cats are not “indigenous” or native to Florida, and relocating and releasing non-native species into the wild is a violation of Florida Statute 379.231 and Florida Administrative Code 68A- 4.005.”
Sign the Petition below:
(Your information will only be used in this petition and will not be given to any other third parties.)
As a result of the statements on this page, I do not support TNR or programs that support TNR because the FDOH strongly recommends against such programs in its 2012 Rabies Guide. Instead, I support AWAKE! as a reasonable solution that considers all the problems presented by feral and stray cats.
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