Fur Flies as Port Authority Contracts Exterminator to Rid John F. Kennedy Airport Cats

Airport Employees and Animal Rescuers Make Public Plea for Humane Solution as Port Authority Rebuffs Assistance Offered by Rescue Groups and Begins Roundup

New York, N.Y.—The lives of hundreds of cats and kittens who live in managed feral cat colonies in and near the John F. Kennedy Airport are at dire risk as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport, begins contract with an exterminator to roundup and rid the felines. Tended by sympathetic airport employees and animal rescuers for decades, the cats are believed to be descendants of or are the lost companions of travelers as well as some abandoned animals who started to breed. Each year, dozens of dogs and cats are lost and found at the five thousand acres of land at the John F. Kennedy Airport.

"We appeal for the Port Authority to consider an effective, humane and proven solution to this issue by working with experts in animal care and population control in a pilot Trap-Neuter-Return program," says Valerie Sicignano, New York Regional Director of In Defense of Animals.

Commonly referred to as "TNR" and used effectively by municipalities across the country, including locally in New York on Rikers Island, trap-neuter-return programs are endorsed by national and local animal protection organizations including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Humane Society of the United States, and the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals as the only proven humane and effective method to manage feral cat colonies.

Interviews with animal rescuers and backgrounds and fact sheets on TNR programs are available upon request. For further information, please visit the New York City Feral Cat Council and NYC Feral Cat Initiative's website at www.nycferalcat.org.

Administered by Neighborhood Cats, the NYC Feral Cat Initiative provides training, resources and services to individuals performing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) projects in New York City. It is a program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, a nonprofit public-private partnership of over 100 animal rescue groups working with the City of New York towards the day when no city dog or cat will be killed merely because he or she does not have a home. For more information on the NYC Feral Cat Initiative, please visit www.nycferalcat.org. For information on spaying/neutering, pet adoptions, and volunteer opportunities, please visit the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals website at www.AnimalAllianceNYC.org.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization located in San Rafael, Calif. dedicated to protecting animals rights, welfare, and habitat through education, outreach, and our hands-on rescue facilities in Mumbai India, Cameroon Africa, and rural Mississippi.