When Conservation Minister Maggie Barry spoke out against the SPCA policy of Trap Neuter Return (TNR) she had science behind her. The New Zealand Vets Association has done a thorough review of the evidence around cat management (including TNR) and found that:

The literature evaluated suggests that a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) strategy would not be judicious for the majority of stray cats as it is costly, does not stop predation of wildlife by cats and has little effect on the spread of diseases amongst cats. There is also little evidence that clearly shows TNR improves cat welfare overall or results in population decline on a broad scale.

This Whiteboard Friday looks at the evidence on this in more detail.

Keep speaking the truth Maggie. You have the vets and us behind you. It is time to end TNR and make sure that every cat is an owned cat – even better every cat should be in a lap.

About the Author

Gareth Morgan

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Gareth Morgan is a New Zealand economist and commentator on public policy who in previous lives has been in business as an economic consultant, funds manager, and professional company director. He is also a motorcycle adventurer and philanthropist. Gareth and his wife Joanne have a charitable foundation, the Morgan Foundation, which has three main stands of philanthropic endeavour – public interest research, conservation and social investment.