Press Release - April 22, 2010 |
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Humane Sociey of Ocean City Helps Outs BCCI |
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The Spay/Neuter Clinic at the Humane Society of Ocean City has been open since September of 2002. Thousands of cats have been altered at the clinic but the 26 that were brought in for surgery on April 13 were special. According to shelter staff 26 animals is considered a very full clinic and you would expect that you might even have 26 different owners. These cats however are all going back to the same place. They are an entire feral cat colony from Burlington County. Dr.Gordon Stull, one of the HSOC's spay/neuter vets, is the Program Director of BCCI (Burlington County Feral Cat Iniciative). The program seeks to improve conditions that feral cats live in, educate the public on how to properly manage feral cat colonies, and seeks more humane methods of trapping, altering, and returning these cats to their colonies in an effort to reduce the overrall feral cat population. Lisa Besser is the Program Coordinator of BCCI and in the four days before the clinic she, as well as several other volunteers, trapped the entire colony to be spayed or neutered at once. "It is ideal if you can alter the entire colony at one time. The average life span of a feral cat in a well managed colony is about ten years and eventually once everyone is spayed or neutered the colony will become extinct," said Dr. Stull. Dr. Stull donated all of the supplies used at the clinic. "We are always happy to help those who are taking the iniciative to reduce cat overpopulation. BCCI is doing good work and we are glad to be able to offer our clinic space," said shelter manager Angela Coyle. For more information on BCCI visit www.NJFerals.org. To have your cat or dog spayed or neutered, or for information on trapping feral cats to be altered please visit www.HSOCNJ.org.
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