PeerJ. 2014 Mar 18;2:e312. doi: 10.7717/peerj.312. eCollection 2014.
TNR and conservation on a university campus: a political ecological perspective.
https://peerj.com/articles/312/
Abstract
How
to manage the impact of free-ranging cats on native wildlife is a
polarizing issue. Conservation biologists largely support domestic cat
euthanasia to mitigate impacts of free-ranging cat predation on small
animal populations. Above all else, animal welfare activists support the
humane treatment of free-ranging cats, objecting to euthanasia.
Clearly, this issue of how to control free-ranging cat predation on
small animals is value laden, and both positions must be considered and
comprehended to promote effective conservation. Here, two gaps in the
free-ranging cat-small-animal conservation literature are addressed.
First, the importance of understanding the processes of domestication
and evolution and how each relates to felid behavioral ecology is
discussed. The leading hypothesis to explain domestication of wildcats
(Felis silvestris) relates to their behavioral ecology as a solitary
predator, which made them suited for pest control in early agricultural
villages of the Old World. The relationship humans once had with cats,
however, has changed because today domesticated cats are usually
household pets. As a result, concerns of conservation biologists may
relate to cats as predators, but cat welfare proponents come from the
position of assuming responsibility for free-ranging household pets (and
their feral offspring). Thus, the perceptions of pet owners and other
members of the general public provide an important context that frames
the relationship between free-ranging cats and small animal
conservation. The second part of this paper assesses the effects of an
information-based conservation approach on shifting student's perception
of a local Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program in introductory core
science classes at the University of North Texas (UNT). UNT students are
(knowingly or unknowingly) regularly in close proximity to a TNR
program on campus that supports cat houses and feeding stations. A
survey design implementing a tailored-information approach was used to
communicate what TNR programs are, their goals, and the
"conservationist" view of TNR programs. We gauged favorability of
student responses to the goals of TNR programs prior to and after
exposure to tailored information on conservation concerns related to
free-ranging cats. Although these results are from a preliminary study,
we suggest that an information-based approach may only be marginally
effective at shifting perceptions about the conservation implications of
free-ranging cats. Our position is that small animal conservation in
Western societies occurs in the context of pet ownership, thus broader
approaches that promote ecological understanding via environmental
education are more likely to be successful than information-based
approaches.
