BETHESDA, Md., May 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Alley Cat Allies (ACA) will appeal to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner for help in a last-minute effort to save countless feral cats from a controversial attempt to assist declining rabbit populations.
Marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in the Florida Key Deer National Refuge were named for Mr. Hefner, after he financed the 1980 research study that identified the species. The "Hefner" rabbit population has since declined and is on the Endangered Species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. FWS) has wrongly named feral cats as the main cause of the marsh rabbit's decline and has launched a controversial plan to trap and remove the cats living in the refuge.
In a letter to Mr. Hefner, Alley Cat Allies President and co-founder Becky Robinson, will point out that the U.S. FWS's plan will only lead to the cats being euthanized at local shelters and other cats moving into the refuge to replace them. Robinson will ask Mr. Hefner to publicly denounce the lethal population management practices being considered and urge the U.S. FWS to allow an effective, nonlethal management program called Trap-Neuter-Return or TNR to humanely reduce the cat population.
Alley Cat Allies is a national nonprofit organization with more than 100,000 supporters established in 1990 to advocate nonlethal population management of feral cats.
"Habitat destruction by humans has led to fewer places for the 'Hefner' rabbits to live," states Robinson. "The U.S. FWS has based this plan on flawed studies. This lack of valid science behind the U.S. FWS decision is another example of politics over science exemplified in the Full Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing: "Endangered Species Act Implementation: Science or Politics?" (May 9, 2007). Simply stated, there are no up-to-date studies showing that eliminating cats benefits any endangered species. There are, however, documented instances where eliminating cats has wrought havoc on the ecological balance.
Alley Cat Allies has worked for years to stop the U.S. FWS's lethal population management policies. "Although we finally convinced the federal government not to simply trap and kill the cats in the Key Deer Refuge, we know virtually all the cats will be killed at local shelters because they are feral and unadoptable," says Robinson. Further, U.S. FWS has stated that trapped cats are likely to remain unprotected in the traps for as much as 12 hours, leaving them and any other animals trapped exposed to lethal swarms of red ants.
Alley Cat Allies advocates a nonlethal method of population management called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) for the cats in the refuge, where the cats are humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to their habitat. The cats would be provided with a daily supply of fresh food and water, thereby stopping the cats from hunting the rabbits for food. Feral cats that are part of ongoing management programs tend not to stray as far from their food bowls which can be gently moved away from marsh rabbit breeding grounds and habitat to other parts of the refuge.
"Viewers of Mr. Hefner's TV show 'The Girls Next Door' know that the Playboy Mansion is home to countless animals that are treated as part of the family," said Robinson. "Mr. Hefner is clearly a man who loves animals and I am hopeful that he will see why the proposed plan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is absolutely ludicrous and will not save the rabbit species from further decline."
On the hit reality program, Hefner's live-in girlfriend Bridget Marquardt lavishes affection on her cat Gizzmo, while two outdoor, stray cats, Geller and Little-bit, are fed and cared for at the Mansion.
About Alley Cat Allies
For 17 years, Alley Cat Allies (ACA) has led the national feral cat movement by advocating Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), the only effective and humane method to reduce feral cat populations. Based in Bethesda, MD, ACA has more than 100,000 supporters and is the national nonprofit clearinghouse for information on feral and stray cats. To learn about Alley Cat Allies, visit www.alleycat.org.
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