(CNS): Trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs cannot resolve the overpopulation of feral cat nests throughout the Cayman Islands, Premier Wayne Panton said, as he protected the rollout of the Alien Species Regulations and the intro of control programs targeted at conserving Cayman’s threatened endemic and native types.
Of the 129 feral cats caught considering that 2007, just 7 (2 in 2007 and 5 in 2023) were made sterile or neutered, he informed the Cayman Islands Humane Society in action to their issues about the brand-new policies.
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“This is a very strong indication that the TNR efforts in Little Cayman have not penetrated the broader feral population of cats there, leaving those animals to not only predate on the young of several regionally and internationally important species, driving their populations into drastic declines, but to also live short and miserable lives in the wild, which raises several serious animal welfare issues,” the premier composed. “It is for these reasons that the government will not entertain the application of TNR as a population control method.”.
In action to the regional non-profit organisation’s open letter sent to him on Monday, Panton, who has duty for sustainability and the environment, sent a reply on Thursday in which he described the thinking behind the brand-new guidelines and the restricted types list, laying out the differences in between domestic and feral animals and specifying treatments and the control of feral animals and other alien types.
While he acknowledged the NPO’s spay and neuter programs, Panton said that comprehensive clinical proof and literature revealed that the TNR would not work. He refuted claims that the policies fall back animal well-being, keeping in mind that the goal of safeguarding native animals and indicating the dreadful lives the cats have in the wild. He likewise kept in mind that numerous animal rights activists and charities, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, assistance control programs.
Panton said it was the legal obstacle by the Humane Society versus the Department of Environment’s efforts to manage the feral cat population on Little Cayman 5 years ago that highlighted the requirement for particular guidelines developed to govern culls and control programs.
“I am keenly aware that… almost four years involving many hours of face-to-face discussions and written exchanges of your views with your organisation led to a negotiated settlement of the litigation, which allowed the government to proceed with the trapping of feral cats and the promulgation of these regulations,” he composed.
Pointing out that the CIHS has a seat on the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Committee that assisted notify the brand-new guidelines, he said, “It is unfortunate that you have deliberately framed the regulations as something that blindsided your organisation.”
Panton kept in mind the mountain of proof revealing that launching neutered animals back in the wild stays a significant danger to native types, as he implicated the animal charity of being amongst those who are propagating false information about the brand-new guidelines.
Having embraced a variety of rescued animals himself, the premier, who is popular for his authentic issue about the dangers to our natural world, said he was aware of how delicate and mentally charged this concern is. Nevertheless, he informed the CIHS that “we must make hard decisions in order to protect our threatened, endemic species”.
Read the complete letter from Panton in the CNS Library.
Watch video provided by the DoE listed below:
