I know I told you we would talk about the Glassdoor ACA employee reviews. And I will. But first, we need to talk a little more about the history of TNR. Which, as close as I can tell, is inextricably linked to the history of ACA. I’m saying, the history of TNR in America is pretty much the history of ACA.
A] ACA is one of the biggest proponents of TNR
They may have started TNR in the United States (see the last post) and the organization has most definitely taken the process mainstream. On Google search, pretty much any TNR-related term brings back many results from ACA. I looked 9 pages deep on the Google search, and the results that were not written by ACA or people directly related to it, mentioned ACA in positive terms. TNR is essentially ACA.
B] Timeline of Successes is very subjective
This timeline of successes was written by Alley Cat Allies. I wanted to see how each project is doing currently, and what I found is a decidedly biased presentation by ACA. Firstly, a lot of these projects actually leaned heavily on adoption to reduce cat populations. Secondly, I found the language in each article highly subjective and politically charged. Calling something a success doesn’t necessarily make it a success. In fact, I would argue that following ONLY the principles of TNR made each of these projects failures. I have taken what is on the ACA website and added my own commentary.
Timeline from AlleyCatAllies.org:
The idea for the organization started in Washington DC in 1990.
By 1993, Alley Cat Allies had developed a set of protocols for Trap-Neuter-Return and veterinary care for community cats, also known as feral cats. These serve as guidelines for more than 4,000 humane societies and shelters.
[my insertion: the ”feral” is not a synonym for community cats, homeless cats, or stray cats, and implies these cats are not adoptable, which is false]
By 1998, our first office was opened in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.
“Through natural attrition and the removal of adoptable cats and kittens, the cat population dwindled from more than fifty-four cats to six over seven years. The last cat from the colony died in 2007 at the age of seventeen.”
https://books.google.com/books? id=wWkpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT132&lpg=PT132&dq=number+of+cats+and+Adams+Morgan+neighborhood+of+Washington,+DC.&source=bl&ots=ClvkeuF05J&sig=ACfU3U3IKMWdLMnYE83kcfWShAuj4Zo5rw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi166m1467xAhWQwJ4KHWS4AKYQ6AEwG3oECBMQAw#v=onepage&q=number%20of%20cats%20and%20Adams%20Morgan%20neighborhood%20of%20Washington%2C%20DC.&f=false
[Me again: “Natural attrition” is a euphemism for the cats that left the colony and were not replaced. Alley Cat Allies and the many biased articles touting TNR do not share specifically what attrition occurred. It is unknown what percent of the colony died of old age, vs. more terrible fates like hit-by-car, starvation, disease, dog mauling, or the other risks posed to these strays living outside. It is also not mentioned how many of the cats in the colony were adopted out.
Still me:
Another thing that goes unmentioned in many articles citing this “success story” in Washington D.C. is that the number of stray cats was relatively small- just 54. We can calculate the rate of colony reduction using their beginning number and the number of cats 7 years into the TNR program:
54 at start minus 6 cats left after seven years = 48 cats had been removed from the colony
48 cats removed divided by 7 years = 6.857 cats reduced per year, about 7/yr.
It’s honestly not that great of a success in my opinion. And I was left with many questions such as: Were there concurrent anti-dumping laws that helped stabilize the population through zero new cats joining the colony? Were any other laws passed that aimed to solve the stray cat problem? Would cats be removed at the rate of nearly seven per year if the colony started out larger? How many cats were neutered? Were cats spayed as well? What was the cost per cat to sterilize the cats? Does this reflect a financial deal with veterinarians, and if so is the discounted price good long-term? How many of the 54 cats were adopted? How well was the colony tracked? What size staff/volunteers did they have? How many caretakers of the colony were there? Were those caretakers consistent, or did the people change or decrease over time? Did any of the cats die from trauma or disease? Is the 54 cats to 7 figure exactly accurate, or ballpark figures?
It seems like a very hazy story with so many variables unknown that it’s difficult to attribute the complete removal of the colony to TNR, especially excluding other factors.]
Back to Alley Cat Allies Timeline:
In the year 2000, when Atlantic City’s animal control started trapping and killing cats living under the city’s famous boardwalk, Alley Cat Allies intervened and convinced the public health director, Ron Cash, to endorse a pilot TNR program. Now called the Atlantic City Boardwalk Cats Project™
15). https://www.alleycat.org/about/history/#:~:text=
Our%20roots%20go%20back%20to,them%20to%20their%20outdoor%20homes.
In the immediate wake of Hurricane Sandy, Alley Cat Allies is mobilizing staff and volunteers to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where clean up and recovery efforts are underway at the Boardwalk after the devastating flooding there. Specifically, we will help to assure that cats found during rescue efforts will have safe shelter until their caregivers or families are identified or until safe locations or new homes can be found. We will also vet any injured cats, spay/neuter and vaccinate any cats that may be displaced but who are rescued, and provide supplies and volunteers to help build safe shelters and stations for the Boardwalk cats and other cats adjacent to the Boardwalk.
17). https://www.lifewithcats.tv/2012/10/31/
returning-to-the-boardwalk-atlantic-city-cats-post-sandy/
[It’s me: So right off, the middle of a hurricane described as “devastating” doesn’t sound like the ideal place for cats. And weather events and temperature are part of the TNR bargain. Release means after the cats are castrated, they are put back where they were found–outside. Think about all the dramatic weather forecasts in the U.S. and know that mother-nature is a constant threat to cats living outdoors. Also, it sounds like many of the surviving cats may have been adopted, but numbers for death, adoption, and continuation in the boardwalk colonies are not provided by the article.]
ACA continues:
When the TNR effort started, there were an estimated 300 stray cats who called the Atlantic City Boardwalk-area home. Nobody knows for sure; that’s a best-guess estimate. As it’s progressed through the years, [my sidenote: Article written July 17, 2017, seventeen years after the initial TNR efforts began] Wildman said that population has dwindled to roughly 100. They live in 15 “colonies” spread along a two-mile span of the Boardwalk.
16). https://www.phillyvoice.com/meet-the-people-who-care-for-
100-boardwalk-cats-at-jersey-shore/
[My sidenote: For those keeping track. The boardwalk started with approximately 300 cats and over 17 years reduced to 100.
300 initially minus 100 at the time of this article touting the TNR a success = 200 cats left the colonies.
200 cats reduced out of the colonies divided by 17 years of the TNR program = A decrease of just under 12 cats per year.]
ACA timeline continues:
In 2008 Alley Cat Allies launched a social media campaign that resulted in 208 Facebook friends and 11 Twitter followers. Today, through our online communities of nearly half a million Facebook fans and 21,000 Twitter followers, we can take even swifter action to mobilize our network to protest threats to cats.
15). https://www.alleycat.org/about/history/#:~:text=
Our%20roots%20go%20back%20to,them%20to%20their%20outdoor%20homes.
[Here’s my assessment: Now we’re talking actual, measurable success!
Facebook 208 to half million
Twitter from 11 to 21,000
Social media growth from 2008 to 2021 (13 years) was 49,792 more and 20, 989 more, respectively
49,792 / 208 = 23938.46% increase in Facebook followers!
20,989 / 11 = 190809.09% increase in Twitter followers!
*this is the real success of the organization.]
And given the protest comment, along with the charged language, plus all the law changes implemented across the country, I think this is actually the priority of this organization. The ACA wants to persuade, recruit, protest, and change laws to start TNR everywhere in America.
NOW the next thing I’ll talk about is the Organization as employer.
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