Summary: I read an article on the Trap-Neuter-Return program possibly coming to our county. I vaguely know about this program though. It will be interesting to see what the final vote will be.

I have heard about this program. I have seen some YouTube videos on this program. This program is now being closely considered by our county in Florida. I saw an article in the Commercial Press (Wed, May 13,2015), stating that the Sheriff is "exploring whether it is feasible to implement". I have not done any research of my own about this program.

What little I do know, Trap-Neuter-Return involves the humane capture of feral cats, having them neuter/spayed, then returned to their colonies location.

This article states that the University of Florida has been doing an 11-year study, finding the felines on the campus has declined by 66%. This program is being implemented in Jacksonville, Baltimore, San Francisco and Los Angeles. If this program becomes implemented, it could be run by volunteers.

The article goes on to state the groups that are against this program including the Wildlife Conservation group and other organizations. Reasons for their opposition include danger of cats transmitting Feline Leukemia to the Florida panthers, toxoplasmosis to other animals and humans and the killing of birds by outdoor cats.

It will be interesting to see what the final vote by the commission board says.

The following are my own comments: Beyond stating the cities in which this program is implemented, the article doesn't dwell much into the success or lack of in these locations. Furthermore, this article doesn't state how much the projected program would cost to run. As I have stated in the first paragraph, I have not done my own research so I cannot vouch for the percentage of numbers that are being reported. For example, this article writes, The American Bird Conservancy reports every year "approximately 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals are killed by outdoor cats in the U.S. alone ". Although these numbers are great, I would question what are the percentages or numbers in the local area? An example would be, the University of Florida states a 66% decline in feral cats around the campus, has any research been done to the see if there is any change in the number of birds and other mammals in the area? I would not have a clue on how to begin such a project, however, if numbers are going to be given, lets compare apples to apples. Don't give an approximate number of birds killed by outdoor cats throughout the U.S. and not have any numbers or research for the local area in which the TNR programs are being implemented. This should be possible since the TNR program has been in effect in some areas for over 20 years. These would be some of the questions that I would like to investigate. Have any of you experienced the TNR program in your area? If so, what are your thoughts about how effective or ineffective the program is in your area.