COMMUNITY
44
SUSAN PARRY
Neveah Edmond, 4, and Edson Edmond, 8, learn humane treatment of animals by assisting with feeding through the TNVR program.
SAVING THE
ABANDONED
Successful program uses humane approach
to rescue free-roaming cats while keeping
population under control
BY MICHELLE ABALDO
Cats running loose in the neighborhood present a
dilemma for residents who feel sorry for the wild
animals but at the same time need order in their
communities. Feral or lost cats can procreate at
alarming rates when left on their own, leading to necessary
capture and eventual death in many cases.
Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return (TNVR), instituted by
the City of Fort Pierce, has changed all that. The program is
saving lives and taxpayers’ money while limiting the numbers
of cats struggling with life on the streets.
TNVR has been implemented by hundreds of communities
in Florida, including Jacksonville and West Palm Beach,
which recognized that more than 70 percent of cats picked up
and taken to shelters are killed. The Treasure Coast had been
behind in coping with free-roaming cats in a humane way
until April 2017 when Fort Pierce passed an ordinance allow- >>