Management of feral domestic cats in the urban environment of Rome (Italy).
In Italy, which is rabies-free, the national Law No. 281 [Legge Nazionale 14 agosto 1991. No. 281: Legge Quadro in materia di animali di affezione e prevenzione del randagismo. Gazz. Uff. Rep. Ital. no 203 del 30 agosto 1991: p. 3] on the management of pets and on the control of feral cats has introduced the no-kill policy for this species. Thus, "trap-neuter-release" (TNR) programs have been carried out for >10 years. In this paper we present data on registered colonies and censused cats in Rome from 1991 to 2000; the results of the neutering campaign from 1991 to 2000; and a survey, on 103 cat colonies, on the effects of demographic control of urban feral-cat colonies in the city of Rome, carried out by the local Veterinary Public Services (VPS) in collaboration with the associations of cat care-takers. In 10 years almost 8000 were neutered and reintroduced in their original colony. The spay/neuter campaigns brought about a general decrease in cat number but the percentage of cat immigration (due to abandonment and spontaneous arrival) is around 21%. This suggests that all these efforts without an effective education of people to control the reproduction of house cats (as a prevention for abandonment) are a waste of money, time and energy.
Natoli
Eugenia
E
Azienda USL Rome D, Dipartimental Area of Veterinary Public Health, Veterinary Hospital, via della Magliana 856, 00148 Rome, Italy. enatoli@tiscali.it
Maragliano
Laura
L
Cariola
Giuseppe
G
Faini
Anna
A
Bonanni
Roberto
R
Cafazzo
Simona
S
Fantini
Claudio
C
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000835:Animals, Wild; D017028:Caregivers; D002415:Cats / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D010052:Ovariectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D011155:Population Control / Q000379:methods; D014505:Urban Population