Urge your state senator and delegate to vote NO on S.B. 1390

January 27, 2021
ACTION ALERT:
Tell your senator and delegates to vote NO on S.B. 1390 and support a work group to develop a balanced approach to unowned cats
Photo: Courtesy of the American Bird Conservancy

Contact your Senator and Delegate as soon as possible and tell them to vote NO on S.B.1390, which would legalize the release of unowned cats into the environment, programs known as trap, neuter and return (TNR). TNR allows people to release feral cats into the environment without addressing the harm that does to cat welfare, human health and avian and other wildlife.

ASNV opposes this bill for these reasons:
* Unowned cats in the environment are a human health hazard: they can spread disease to other animals and to people, with rabies and toxoplasmosis being particular concerns.
* Scientific studies have shown that TNR programs do not reduce federal cat populations as TNR advocates claim.
* The lives of the released cats are short and brutal: releasing them to face weather, cars, predators, disease and inferior nutrition is inhumane.
* Outdoor cats are a leading cause of declining bird populations, killing an estimated 2.4 billion birds every year in the United States, with an estimated 70 percent of the birds killed by unowned or feral cats.

A better approach than making TNR legal in Virginia would be for the General Assembly to pass legislation creating a work group under the auspices of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to analyze the science and develop a consensus bill that involves multiple parties and appropriately balances the interests of those who want to protect public health, cats and native wildlife.

You can identify your Senator and Delegate here: Who's My Legislator? ([link removed])

You can also use the American Bird Conservancy's form to contact your legislators here ([link removed]) .

Thank you for your consideration.

-Audubon Society of Northern Virginia

Photo: Courtesy of the American Bird Conservancy

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