Opinions from the Front Lines of Cat Colony Management Conflict

M Nils Peterson,Christopher A Lepczyk,Matthew Green,Brett Hartis,Shari Rodriguez,Niko Speybroeck

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044616

M Nils Peterson, Christopher A Lepczyk + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044616

Copy DOI

Abstract

Outdoor cats represent a global threat to terrestrial vertebrate conservation, but management has been rife with conflict due to differences in views of the problem and appropriate responses to it. To evaluate these differences we conducted a survey of opinions about outdoor cats and their management with two contrasting stakeholder groups, cat colony caretakers (CCCs) and bird conservation professionals (BCPs) across the United States. Group opinions were polarized, for both normative statements (CCCs supported treating feral cats as protected wildlife and using trap neuter and release [TNR] and BCPs supported treating feral cats as pests and using euthanasia) and empirical statements. Opinions also were related to gender, age, and education, with females and older respondents being less likely than their counterparts to support treating feral cats as pests, and females being less likely than males to support euthanasia. Most CCCs held false beliefs about the impacts of feral cats on wildlife and the impacts of TNR (e.g., 9% believed feral cats harmed bird populations, 70% believed TNR eliminates cat colonies, and 18% disagreed with the statement that feral cats filled the role of native predators). Only 6% of CCCs believed feral cats carried diseases. To the extent the beliefs held by CCCs are rooted in lack of knowledge and mistrust, rather than denial of directly observable phenomenon, the conservation community can manage these conflicts more productively by bringing CCCs into the process of defining data collection methods, defining study/management locations, and identifying common goals related to caring for animals.

Highlights

Management of free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus L.) is a long-standing international conservation issue [1,2,3,4]
Conservation efforts focused on protecting birds by removing legal protection of feral cats, encouraging responsible pet ownership by keeping cats indoors [11], opposing trap-neuter-return (TNR), and eventual removal of feral cat colonies from the landscape [11,12,13,14] sparked organized opposition from cat colony non-governmental organizations (NGOs), feral cat bloggers, and cat colony caretakers (CCCs) [15]
In this study we address these needs with a nationwide survey of CCCs and bird conservation professionals (BCPs) across the United States

Summary

Introduction

Management of free-roaming (outdoor pets and feral) domestic cats (Felis catus L.) is a long-standing international conservation issue [1,2,3,4]. Estimates of wildlife mortalities attributed to free-roaming cats range from millions to billions, and predation on birds has created significant controversy. This may reflect the fact that cat impacts on birds received widespread attention in the media following two studies in the UK [8] and the US [9] and the subsequent involvement from major non-governmental organizations (NGOs), advocacy groups (e.g., The Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and American Bird Conservancy; [10]), and professional societies (e.g., The Wildlife Society). Organizations representing CCCs (e.g., Alley Cat Allies) lobbied against lethal management of cat colonies in favor of no kill options Many of these larger organizations are well funded and work to network CCCs, and advocate for legal and financially viable TNR programs [16]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion