Questions letter writer's statements regarding failure of TNR

Iwrite to respond to the letter to the editor from David Blumig claiming that Trap-Neuter- Return (TNR) does not work to reduce feral-cat populations ("Disputes Claims That Studies Show TNR To Be Successful," Suburban, July 9).

David Blumig's family owns Blumig Kennels, which contracts with many towns to hold and euthanize their cats. It is not surprising he opposes the growth of municipal TNR programs in New Jersey.

Mr. Blumig claims that studies show TNR does not work and cites one study. That study is supportive of TNR and claims only that feral-cat numbers in two large counties were not statistically changed by TNR programs that were unable to sterilize the majority of cats in the counties.

Data shows that targeted programs in smaller areas significantly reduce populations as long as 70-90 percent of the cats are sterilized. There is too much of this data and too many publications to list in a letter to the editor. Readers can find much of it posted on the websites of Neighborhood Cats (which does TNR throughout New York City), the Humane Society of the United States and Alley Cat Allies. An example is a 2004 article by Stoskopf and Nutter in the Journal of the American Veterinary MedicalAssociation reporting that in a two-year controlled study, all six TNR'd colonies decreased significantly in size and one diminished to zero, while colonies that were not TNR'd increased in size an average of 47 percent.

But more important than academic studies are the many New Jersey towns with successful TNR programs. Point Pleasant Beach has a program that is just one year old. When it first started doing TNR, it picked up large numbers of kittens. After TNR'ing for a year throughout the town, it could find only six kittens this past spring. Atlantic City has reduced its boardwalk population by more than 40 percent with TNR. In Cape May the reduction was 80 percent. In Burlington County towns are on a waiting list to get into a TNR program that has reduced feral-cat populations in seven towns. Burlington County freeholders passed a resolution endorsing the program. Morris County released an animal "best practices" document that endorses TNR. Bergen County Animal Control does TNR itself to control feral-cat populations. The list goes on.

Blumig's claim that TNR has not worked in South River is simply not true. The colonies that have been TNR'd in South River have shrunk in size. South River is having a problem with areas where TNR has not been done and wants to create a TNR oversight program like other towns have to spread TNR to those areas as well. Why? Because the areas that have not been TNR'd have out-ofcontrol feral cat populations, and the town has recently begun working with … guess who? Blumig Kennels. The arrangement has the town paying $63 per cat, plus euthanasia fees, to hold the cats for the required seven days.
Michelle Lerner
Policy Specialist
Project TNR
Englishtown