OCTOBER 16 IS NATIONAL FERAL CAT DAY

Alley Cat Allies’ national day celebrates strength of the movement to educate communities and protect cats

BETHESDA, MD – The 11th annual National Feral Cat Day is October 16, and Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for stray and feral cats, is celebrating the broad support seen across the country for humane and effective policies that protect the lives of feral cats.

“Alley Cat Allies launched National Feral Cat Day in 2001 to raise awareness about feral cats, promote Trap-Neuter-Return, and recognize the millions of compassionate citizens who care for cats,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies. “On National Feral Cat Day and all year round, people all across the country work to draw attention to the cause and press their local leaders for humane policies for feral cats. This is truly a national movement.”

Feral cats live and thrive in every landscape, from urban to rural. Because they are not socialized to people and are not candidates for adoption, feral cats taken to animal shelters are almost always killed. Although many communities have embraced Trap-Neuter-Return—which ends the breeding cycle and stabilizes the population—being killed in an animal shelter remains the leading documented cause of death for cats, Robinson said.

“There is much more work to do to educate our neighbors and leaders about the need to launch humane programs that really work for our communities,” she said.

Robinson noted that America is responding to this need. This year’s National Feral Cat Day is a resounding success, with 250 events planned in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, including spay/neuter drives, community celebrations, and workshops that educate neighbors about the best and most humane ways to help cats in the community.

For the first time, Alley Cat Allies also gave awards to a number of local nonprofits across the country for the most creative and innovative community programs, including five “National Feral Cat Day Superstars,” who were awarded $1,000 each for their unique life-saving programs.

A full listing of national events, as well as more information about how people can get involved on National Feral Cat Day, is available at www.alleycat.org/NFCD. Poster, T-shirts, and other fun NFCD-themed items are also available.

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About Alley Cat Allies

Alley Cat Allies is the only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats. Founded in 1990, today Alley Cat Allies has more than 260,000 supporters and helps tens of thousands of individuals, communities, and organizations save and improve the lives cats and kittens nationwide. Their web site is www.alleycat.org.

A victory for Cats and Dogs in Toronto

Here's some great news from Canada -- let's hope some U.S. cities follow suit!

Toronto Council bans pet shop sale of dogs, cats, unless they're from shelters

by Carys Mills

Dogs and cats sold in Toronto pet shops must now come from animal shelters, rescue groups or people giving up animals for free.

Toronto city council voted unanimously on Wednesday to make the changes, which aim to put an end to puppy and kitty mills.

Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker put forward the motion. He said puppy mills are bad for pets and consumers.

Read more in the Globe and Mail

HSI Applauds European General Court Ruling on Seal Products Ban

MONTREAL—Humane Society International commended a landmark decision by the European General Court to dismiss a case challenging the 2009 European Union prohibition on trade in products of commercial seal kills. The world’s largest commercial sealing interests, together with fur industry lobby groups and a number of Inuit sealing advocates, put forward the case in 2010.

“This cynical attempt to overturn European law, by those who seek to profit from the mass commercial slaughter of baby seals, has failed,” said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International/Canada. “This is an important victory for the overwhelming majority of Europeans and Canadians who want the seal slaughter to end, and for the countless seals who will be spared a horrible fate because of this decision. Today’s ruling is yet more evidence that the commercial sealing industry is coming to an end. It is time for the Canadian government to respect Canadian and global opinion and implement a fair plan to compensate sealers and bring the seal slaughter to a final close.”

The dismissed case (T-18/10) was an application to the European Court requesting an annulment of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009, which prohibits the placing on the market of products from commercial seal hunts throughout the European Union. The European Court did not have to reach the merits of the case having found that the applicants were not “directly concerned” by the seals regulation, a key factor in determining whether a legal challenge is admissible.

Case T-526/10, a secondary application by the same group, is still before the Court. It requests an annulment of European Parliament and Council Regulation No 737/2010, which outlines how the ban is enforced.

This ruling comes on the heels of the Canadian government challenge of the EU ban at the World Trade Organization, which has been perceived by many in the EU as a baseless attack on European values and democratic processes. In response, a number of Members of the European Parliament have indicated they are less likely to ratify the pending Canada-European Union Economic and Trade Agreement—a deal reportedly worth $12 billion annually to Canada’s economy—unless Canada withdraws its WTO challenge.

Franklin, the Former Feral, enjoying the good life!