Action Alert: JFK to Exterminate Feral Cats

Port Authority Seeks Extermination of Feral Cats at Airport

(New York, NY) According to Port Authority officials, the most pressing threat to aviation security at JFK Airport is no longer terrorism, but feral cats! Contracts have been ordered to immediately round up and exterminate scores of felines residing on the 5000 acres of one of the nation's busiest airports. Even cats sterilized, vaccinated for rabies and cared for by volunteers according to the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method are under attack.

"The Port Authority's claim that feeding these cats is attracting large numbers of birds who, in turn, could bring down a jet is beyond absurd," according to Bryan Kortis, Executive Director of Neighborhood Cats, a leading cat advocacy group. "There isn't any food left the birds and, besides, cats have been at JFK for decades. Now all of a sudden when concerned groups want to neuter and care for these cats, they're a security threat. The public needs to let Port Authority know loud and clear we're not as stupid as they think and won't buy their concocted justification for needlessly killing these animals."

Feral cats are the descendants of lost or abandoned cats and, at JFK, originate from cats lost or abandoned by travelers. Attempts to eradicate them have historically failed. By contrast, TNR has repeatedly been used to nonlethally lower cat numbers and eliminate sanitary and nuisance concerns. TNR involves neutering the cats, vaccinating them for rabies, returning them to their territory, then monitoring and caring for them. Over time, attrition lowers their populations.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Call, fax and email Port Authority officials and protest the extermination effort. Urge them to meet with NYC Feral Cat Initiative representatives and come up with an intelligent plan to TNR and manage the JFK cats. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative is a program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals.

WHO TO CONTACT:
Susan Baer, General Manager, JFK Airport
[email protected]
718-244-3501

Laura Francoeur, Aeronautical Services,
Airport Operations Division
Phone: 718-244-3773
Fax: 718-244-3777
[email protected]

For more on the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals: www.animalalliancenyc.org
For more on Neighborhood Cats: www.neighborhoodcats.org