JFK Airport hunts down cat populations

Devotees of Vivi are well acquainted with the Port Authroity of New York and Jersey, which manages John F. Kennedy Airport, where the spritely whippet was lost almost two years ago.

Now, the airport and its managing agency finds itself in the crossfire, as feral-cat advocates protests its contracting an exterminator to round up the many feral cat colonies in and around the airport's 5,000 acres.

Tenderhearted airport employees and rescuers have tended some of the colonies for decades. The feral cats are believed to have descended from the lost pets of travelers, as well as abandoned pets.

Instead of "exterminating" the hundreds of kitties, feral-cat activists such as the NYC Feral Cat Initiative are urging the Port Authority to look into a TNR, or trap-neuter-release, program, which has been effective in other restricted areas in the city, such as Riker's Island.

On Monday, Oct. 29, from noon to 1 p.m., In Defense of Animals will hold a rally outside Port Authority headquarters, off Union Square at 225 Park Avenue South between 18th and 19th streets.

Comments

[kathy k]

I wish that I lived close enough for that is one event that I would NOT miss for the world.
Good luck!
kat

[rooooby]

Good luck to the people trying to save the cats!
I'm with them, spay, neuter and release them!

[Audrey]

The Port Authority has begun killing the JFK cats:
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org:80/

[B-J]

What about the rodent population at JFk? I would think if their population was not kept down (there's enough thier that (not a day goes by without seeing a few mice and rats scurrying around) they would pose a bigger threat to aviation. One gets on a plane and chews the right wire; byebye plane if it's airbound. Take just one rodent escaping cargo to ground a plane until it is found and the plane extensively inspected.

[Paula Wright]

Hi!
I think the JFK port personnels are such cowards by killing the cats...they (cats) aren't any threat to the airplanes or anywhere else. They (cats) are survival animals.
I am a cat lover myself and I hate to see anything that harm the cats! It wasn't the cat's faults that they are the feral, wild animals, that was why so many rats, mice are nasty little buggers!
I think the JFK personnels should have leave the feral cats alone and do nothing! The feral cats never bothered anybody at all.

[rooooby]

THE CATS NEED TO BE SPAYED AND NEUTERED AND SHOTS GIVEN IF POSSIBLE. I'm also wondering about other tests for them..My daughter rescued a bunch of feral babies, found homes for all of them after having them spayed etc. I have one of the critters, the famous
Mr. Peabody, a cat with an attitude.
I think you're right BJ. (0:

[Audrey]

Demonstration Against Port Authority’s Cat Killing - Nov. 15

Meeting of Board of Commissioners targeted for protest

A demonstration against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's plan to exterminate hundreds of feral cats at JFK Airport has been called for Thursday, Nov. 15th at Port Authority Headquarters. The protest will coincide with a meeting of the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners, the governing body that has the power to order an immediate halt to the extermination.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority's hired guns were busy trapping more cats at JFK this past weekend, and may be dumping more victims at a local animal control shelter this week. Valerie Sicignano, IDA’s East Coast coordinator and representative of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative, a program of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, reiterated that animal advocates will not stop fighting to protect the feral cats at JFK until the Port Authority agrees to stop sending them to their deaths. "We start each day not knowing whether we'll be able to save all the captured cats, but we'll keep trying to delay the killing for as long as possible," she said. "In this rescue effort, the assistance of Animal Care and Control of NYC has been invaluable."

Alley Cat Allies issued a statement condemning the eradication program and labeling the Port Authority's claim that the cats were attracting birds as "ludicrous." A snap poll run by NY1, a leading New York City cable TV station, closed with 89% of respondents favoring Trap-Neuter-Return for the JFK cats.

1) Attend the demonstration next week!
What: Protest against feral cat extermination at JFK Airport
When: Thursday, Nov. 15th, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m
Where: Port Authority Headquarters, 225 Park Avenue South (between 18th and 19th Streets, just north of Union Square), Manhattan

2) Keep contacting decision-makers by phone, email, and fax! Follow these tips to have the most impact:

- When sending emails, do not write either "JFK" or "cats" in the subject heading: They are screening for those words and deleting or bouncing those emails back. Instead, keep it vague (like "Port Authority problem" or "suggested improvement," or make up your own unique phrase so they can't screen our messages out anymore). When calling, if you get a live person, try to avoid mentioning the JFK cats to the first person you speak to, but instead say you want to talk to someone about a problem you're having at the Port Authority's locations. Then talk to the second person about the JFK cats.

- Keep written communications short and polite: Preferably one, but no more than two paragraphs. Let them know you condemn (1) the extermination plan, (2) the lies being told by Port Authority that the cats are an aviation threat and all the trapped cats will be adopted or otherwise rescued, and (3) the refusal of Port Authority to communicate with the public and their attempt to ignore the community's clear feelings on this matter. Finally, (4) demand an end to the killing and initiation of talks with local animal welfare experts at the Mayor's Alliance.

- We're now targeting the Port Authority Board of Commissioners. When appointed, this Board was given the mandate of improving relations between the Port Authority and the New York City community. So they're not going to be pleased to hear about this one!

Who to contact:

Anthony R. Coscia
Chairman, Port Authority Board of Commissioners
Tel: (732) 846-2120 (direct line) or (732) 846-7600 (general number for Mr. Coscia’s law firm)
Fax: (732) 846-8877
Email: acoscia@windelsmarx.com

Henry R. Silverman,
Vice-Chairman, Port Authority Board of Commissioners
Realogy Corporation, Chairman and CEO
Tel: (973) 407-2000
Webmail

Bruce A. Blakeman
New York Commissioner, Port Authority Board of Commissioners
Abrams Fensterman, Partner
Tel: (516) 592-5858
Fax: (516) 328-6638
Email: bblakeman@abramslaw.com

Virginia S. Bauer
New Jersey Commissioner, Port Authority Board of Commissioners
Vice President, Mack-Cali Realty Corporation
Tel: (732) 590-1000
Fax: (732) 205-8237
Email: vbauer@mack-cali.com

The Honorable Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey
Tel: (609) 292-6000

For more names and contact info, go to www.neighborhoodcats.org

[joe]

Feral cats are a clear health hazard regardless of what the cat nutters tell you. Keep your family away from them.
Diseases and parasites which feral cats are known to transmit to people.

1)Rabies virus- fatal in humans
2)Psittacosis –bacteria- parrot fever – fever, pneumonia- fatal in humans
3) Campylobacter- bacteria -diarrhea- fatal
4) Ringworm fungus- round, scaly eczema-like skin disease
5) Conjunctivitus (sporotrichosis)- swollen eyes , lymph nodes
6) Streptococcus / Staphlococcus – bacteria, some antibiotic resistant
7) Pasteuralla – bacteria - meningitis, peritonitis, liver abscesses
8) Salmonella- bacteria -can be fatal in humans
9) Cat Scratch Fever- bacteria- fever, swollen lymph nodes, pus filled lumps
10) Helicobacter pylori – bacteria- causes gastric ulcers
11) Mycobacterium tuberculosis – bacteria - tuberculosis- fatal in humans
12) Cowpox Virus- lesions
13) Roundworms- from cat feces – invade liver, lungs , brain , eyes
14) Hookworms- from cat feces- skin lesions, intestinal bleeding
15) Ascarid worms- intestinal worms- invade brain, spinal cord, liver, lungs, blood
16) Tapeworms- from cat feces - solid masses in brain,liver,lungs,
17) Fleas- carry a host of diseases transmitted to people- Lyme disease
18) Ticks- carry a host of diseases transmitted to people –Lyme disease
19) Crytosporidiosis –chronic diarrhea, no cure
20) Giardiasis- from cat feces- protozoan- diarrhea , abdominal cramps , fever
21) Toxoplasmosis – protozoan -brain parasite, transmitted to fetus, brain damaged
22) Skin mites- itchy rashes, viral host
23) Ear mites- itchy rashes- viral host
24) Chiggers- itchy rashes- viral host
25) Feline plague- bubonic plague, pneumonic plague – fatal in humans
26) Capnocytophaga –bacteria – saliva -fatal in humans
27) L-Form bacteria – autoimmune diseases, antibiotic resistant - fatal in humans
28) Strongyloides – worms - parasite, peptic ulcer, gallbladder, Crohn-like, fatal
29) E. coli – bacteria - from cat feces- fatal
30) Bordetella – bacteria , meningitis, pneumonia –like , whooping cough
31) Q Fever- bacteria - heart disease, liver dysfunction, acute fever, fatal
32) Anthrax- bacteria – vomiting, fever, diarrhea fatal in humans

[joe]

TNR= Trap, neuter and respirator for your kids

[joe]

TNR= Trap, neuter and respirator for your kids

Joe,
Diseases humans transmit to cats (and humans):
STUPIDITY