ACTION ALERT: Bird Groups Convince Judge to Suspend Support of TNR in LA
Maggie Funkhouser
support of TNR. They claimed that under the California Environmental
Quality Act, the City of LA could not provide discount spay neuter
coupons to feral cat caregivers or promote TNR without an
Environmental Study and Impact Report, based upon the utterly false
premise that if TNR is promoted by the City, fewer cats will be killed
in shelters, meaning more cats left in the environment to kill birds.
In the past couple of weeks, after a summary trial of this action,
Judge Thomas McKnew, of the LA Superior Court, bought into this
spurious argument and issued an injunction PREVENTING ANY City support
of TNR.
According to FixNation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to
serving feral cat caregivers and implementing TNR in Los Angeles
County:
While the city isn’t stopping private citizens from doing their
own TNR, this ruling will
suspend the city shelters from distributing our clinic flyers to
educate people about TNR or
allowing shelter employees to encourage TNR as an alternative to
people as they are there
dropping off cats at the shelter. It also ceases any city coupon
funding that our clinic can
use towards homeless cats, which is critical in helping us cover
the cost of spay/neuter
services to make them free for you.
Without TNR and spay/neuter, the homeless cat populations in this
city will explode
exponentially, which means many more cats will end up being killed
at our city shelters.
TNR has been the “unofficial” policy for years, until just last
week when this judge forced the
city to suspend it. Already our city shelter euthanasia rates are
through the roof due to a bad
economy and home foreclosures. This will seriously exacerbate the
situation.
People need to know this is happening, because we truly believe
people will choose the
humane approach and will work to get this ruling overturned. But
we need your help to do so!
Here’s what you can do to help:
1) Please take a moment to sign the petition to show your support for
TNR, and please share this with your friends and neighbors so they are
aware.
www.thepetitionsite.com/37/stop-the-killing-of-homeless-cats-in-la
2) We want to hear your great stories about how TNR has helped you and
your neighborhood! If you have TNR’d homeless cats and have personally
witnessed the positive difference this has made in your community,
please take time to send us your story. Email: in...@fixnation.org
3) Finally, if you do live in Los Angeles, contact the mayor’s office,
your city council members and city representatives. Make sure they
clearly know that you do not support this ruling, you do not support
the killing of more homeless cats and that you DO support TNR. Even if
you don’t live in California, please voice your opinion and support
us. Post to Facebook, post to Twitter, please help us to get the word
out.
Contact Info:
Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Spring Street
LA, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 978-0600
Fax: (213) 978-0750
Email: ma...@lacity.org
Carmen A. Trutanich, City Attorney
200 N. Main Street 8th Floor
LA, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 978-8100
Fax: (213) 978-8312
Email: ctrut...@lacity.org
Link to list of LA City Council Members: www.lacity.org/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/index.htm
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To get your tax-deductible donation in before the end of the year,
please visit www.saveacat.org or mail your check or money order to
Alley Cat Rescue PO Box 585 Mt. Rainier, MD 20712
http://alleycatrescue.blogspot.com/
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