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Public Opinions on Strategies for Managing Stray Cats and Predictors of Opposition to Trap-Neuter and Return in Brisbane, Australia.

ABSTRACT: A survey of Brisbane residents was undertaken to investigate community attitudes toward urban stray cats and their management. Surveys were distributed to 84 medical and dental practices across Brisbane City, and were completed by 305 patients and staff. Practices were targeted to achieve a sample of respondents from a representative distribution of socioeconomic backgrounds. After being informed about trap, neuter, and return (TNR) programs for management of urban stray cats, most respondents (79%), chose TNR as their preferred management strategy, while a lesser proportion (18%) expressed a preference to continue the current Brisbane City Council lethal control program (catching and culling ~1,000 cats annually), and 3.4% selected to leave the cats alone. Differences in beliefs and attitudes toward urban stray cats as a function of demographic variables were investigated. Statistical analyses indicated that respondents who were male, older, non-cat owners, those who believed euthanasia of stray cats was humane, and that urban stray cats spread disease to humans were significantly more likely to express a preference for lethal control, as opposed to non-lethal population management. Based on these findings, we recommend that information is disseminated to mitigate these concerns or negative beliefs, where warranted. Ultimately, findings from this study demonstrate that current Queensland legislation does not reflect public views and opinions on stray cat management and should be reviewed. Formal research evaluating the efficacy of TNR programs for urban stray cats in Australia would be in the public interest.

SUBMITTER: Rand J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6387915 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background:This study was performed to determine the characteristics of community cats that were admitted to trap-neuter-return(TNR) programs and the feasibility of the high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN) model in Seoul, Korea. Methods:TNR programs were performed eight times from 2017 to 2018, and a total of 375 community cats from the pilot areas were admitted. The pilot areas were selected regions wherein caregivers voluntarily participated in our TNR program. Each cat was anesthetized, assessed for health status, sterilized, vaccinated against feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia (FVR-CP), and rabies, and treated with insecticide after surgery. The time from anesthesia to recovery was evaluated to verify the efficiency of surgical time of the program. The TNR program at a local animal hospital and the program in this study were compared to assess the veterinary treatment administered and the cost for each cat. Results:A total of 375 cats were underwent TNR in this study, including 192 (51.2%) intact females, 180 (48%) intact males, and three (0.8%) sterilized cats. Following surgery, 372 cats (99.2%) were returned to their original locations. Three cats (0.8%) died postoperatively. On average, 21.9% of the cats were pregnant during the TNRs, and the highest percentage of cats (63.9%) were pregnant in March. All cats presented to the TNR program were considered healthy enough to be part of the program after examination. For neutering one animal at a time, similar to conventional TNR ($140), it took 53 ± 16 mins for females and 30 ± 9 mins for males from anesthesia to recovery. In contrast, the standardized procedure can neuter multiple cats simultaneously, similar to the conveyor system, at an estimated rate of 6.8 mins per cat ($45 per female cat, $30 per male cat). Conclusions:The TNR strategy in Seoul should be implemented by establishing dedicated clinics to concentrate on HQHVSN surgeries of cats. Through this pilot study, we were able to demonstrate that it is possible to effectively apply HQHVSN clinics in Korea. Future studies that perform intensive sterilization in targeted areas are necessary to confirm the efficacy of the TNR strategy.

Project description:Giardia duodenalis is the most common intestinal protozoan in humans and animals worldwide, including eight morphologically identical assemblages, infecting pets, livestock, wildlife and human beings. Assemblages A and B are those with the higher zoonotic potential, and they have been detected in several mammals other than humans; the others (C to H) show a higher host specificity. Cats can harbour both the specific Assemblage F and the zoonotic ones A and B. Several studies have been carried out on G. duodenalis genotypes in cats; however, the role of this species in the epidemiology of giardiasis is still poorly understood. In this scenario, the present study carried out the detection and genetic characterization at sub-assemblage level of G. duodenalis from colony stray cats in central Italy. In the period 2018-2019, 133 cat faecal samples were analysed for the presence of G. duodenalis cysts by a direct immunofluorescence assay. Positive samples were subsequently subjected to molecular analyses for assemblage/sub-assemblage identification. Forty-seven samples (35.3%) were positive for G. duodenalis cysts by immunofluorescence. G. duodenalis DNA was amplified at SSU-rDNA locus from 39 isolates: 37 were positive for zoonotic Assemblage A and 2 showed a mixed infection (A + B). Positive results for the β-giardin gene were achieved for 25 isolates. Sequence analysis revealed 16 isolates belonging to Sub-assemblage AII and 8 to Sub-assemblage AIII. One isolate resulted as ambiguous AI/AIII. Large sequence variability at the sub-assemblage level was detected, with several double peaks and mutations, making complex a proper isolate allocation. When compared with previous studies, the 35.3% prevalence of G. duodenalis in cats reported in the present article was surprisingly high. Moreover, all positive cats resulted to be infected with zoonotic assemblages/sub-assemblages, thus indicating stray cats as a possible source of human giardiasis and highlighting the sanitary relevance of cat colonies in the study area.

Project description:The risk posed by wildlife to air transportation is of great concern worldwide. In Australia alone, 17,336 bird-strike incidents and 401 animal-strike incidents were reported to the Air Transport Safety Board (ATSB) in the period 2010-2019. Moreover, when collisions do occur, the impact can be catastrophic (loss of life, loss of aircraft) and involve significant cost to the affected airline and airport operator (estimated at globally US$1.2 billion per year). On the other side of the coin, civil aviation, and airport operations have significantly affected bird populations. There has been an increasing number of bird strikes, generally fatal to individual birds involved, reported worldwide (annual average of 12,219 reported strikes between 2008-2015 being nearly double the annual average of 6,702 strikes reported 2001-2007) (ICAO, 2018). Airport operations including construction of airport infrastructure, frequent take-offs and landings, airport noise and lights, and wildlife hazard management practices aimed at reducing risk of birdstrike, e.g., spraying to remove weeds and invertebrates, drainage, and even direct killing of individual hazard species, may result in habitat fragmentation, population decline, and rare bird extinction adjacent to airports (Kelly T, 2006; Zhao B, 2019; Steele WK, 2021). Nevertheless, there remains an imperative to continually improve wildlife hazard management methods and strategies so as to reduce the risk to aircraft and to bird populations. Current approved wildlife risk assessment techniques in Australia are limited to ranking of identified hazard species, i.e., are 'static' and, as such, do not provide a day-to-day risk/collision likelihood. The purpose of this study is to move towards a dynamic, evidence-based risk assessment model of wildlife hazards at airports. Ideally, such a model should be sufficiently sensitive and responsive to changing environmental conditions to be able to inform both short and longer term risk mitigation decisions. Challenges include the identification and quantification of contributory risk factors, and the selection and configuration of modelling technique(s) that meet the aforementioned requirements. In this article we focus on likelihood of bird strike and introduce three distinct, but complementary, assessment techniques, i.e., Algebraic, Bayesian, and Clustering (ABC) for measuring the likelihood of bird strike in the face of constantly changing environmental conditions. The ABC techniques are evaluated using environment and wildlife observations routinely collected by the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) wildlife hazard management team. Results indicate that each of the techniques meet the requirements of providing dynamic, realistic collision risks in the face of changing environmental conditions.

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Public Opinions on Strategies for Managing Stray Cats and Predictors of Opposition to Trap-Neuter and Return in Brisbane, Australia.

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