Prisons Keeping Cats Off Death Row With TNR Programs

Cheers to several prisons that are keeping cats off death row by participating in trap, neuter and return (TNR) programs for the feral cats living on their grounds. With TNR programs, which Friends of Animals advocates for, unsocialized feral cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered vaccinated and then returned to their colonies to help keep them out of shelters.

The list of prisons that have adopted TNR include Great Meadow Correctional Facility in New York; Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, N.J.; Gatesville, Texas Crain Unit Prison; Montana State Prison and New York's Rikers Island. And according to an article on GlobalAnimal.org, it's not just TNR programs at prisons that help keep cats off death row. More and more correctional institutions are introducing adoption programs for cats whose time at the shelter would likely run out before an adoption came through.

These programs offer inmates a powerful rehabilitation tool and give cats another chance at life. When cats enter the shelter, they are matched with inmates to help the cats get socialized and prepare for life in a home. The inmates have the time and motivation to work with cats who may need special attention. Programs are in place at Monroe Correctional Complex and Larch Corrections Center in Washington, Madison Correctional Institution and Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Ohio, as well as Pendleton Correctional Industrial Facility in Indiana.

Humane feral cat management through TNR is the subject of a new documentary directed by Stan Minasian and supported by FoA called Ten Lives. To see the film in its entirety and purchase a copy, visit this website. A story about the making of Ten Lives is featured in FoA's spring issue of Action Line. You can read it right here.