DragonStryk72
01-05-2014, 06:15 PM
http://richmondspca.typepad.com/richmond-spca-blog/2014/01/virginian-pilot-misleads-on-ferals.html
An article was published yesterday in the Virginian Pilot that appeared to have been written on order of PETA. It was a hysterical and wildly inaccurate piece claiming that winter is on its way (got that much right) and so feral cats will be dying in the streets in vast numbers (umm, what?). The motivation for the article was the fact that Portsmouth Humane stopped receiving feral cats in recent months after a brouhaha over their prior practice of taking ferals in and then adopting them to staff members and releasing them following sterilization surgery and innoculation against rabies. The article relied solely on the word of PETA to suggest that Portsmouth must come up with a plan for taking in ferals during the winter. It is our view that no shelter should be accepting feral cats since they will die in a shelter whereas they can survive with great success on their own even in the winter months as do many other animals. Ferals are best off if we respect their abilities to care for themselves and do only what they need for us to do – that is, provide trap-neuter-return services and rabies inoculations for them.
Here in VA, we have the PETA HQ in Downtown Norfolk, and this has meant that this is one of those states where PETA constantly tries to exert its muscle, but what a lot of people don't know is that there is a somewhat quiet war going here between PETA and the SPCA.
What's really interesting about the argument over feral cats is that around here, is that they've been so beneficial. Feral cats of the area become hunters, helping to contain the rat population that is pretty much intrinsic to life near military bases and cities (both of which are existent here in Hampton Roads and much of VA).
An article was published yesterday in the Virginian Pilot that appeared to have been written on order of PETA. It was a hysterical and wildly inaccurate piece claiming that winter is on its way (got that much right) and so feral cats will be dying in the streets in vast numbers (umm, what?). The motivation for the article was the fact that Portsmouth Humane stopped receiving feral cats in recent months after a brouhaha over their prior practice of taking ferals in and then adopting them to staff members and releasing them following sterilization surgery and innoculation against rabies. The article relied solely on the word of PETA to suggest that Portsmouth must come up with a plan for taking in ferals during the winter. It is our view that no shelter should be accepting feral cats since they will die in a shelter whereas they can survive with great success on their own even in the winter months as do many other animals. Ferals are best off if we respect their abilities to care for themselves and do only what they need for us to do – that is, provide trap-neuter-return services and rabies inoculations for them.
Here in VA, we have the PETA HQ in Downtown Norfolk, and this has meant that this is one of those states where PETA constantly tries to exert its muscle, but what a lot of people don't know is that there is a somewhat quiet war going here between PETA and the SPCA.
What's really interesting about the argument over feral cats is that around here, is that they've been so beneficial. Feral cats of the area become hunters, helping to contain the rat population that is pretty much intrinsic to life near military bases and cities (both of which are existent here in Hampton Roads and much of VA).