Feral Cats Facing a Death Sentence

Dozens and possibly hundreds of feral cats living in a secluded cargo area at New York's Kennedy Airport are being trapped and otherwise "rounded up" by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Despite protestations to the contrary, it appears that these hapless cats are destined for death, rather than re-homing.

The Port Authority claims that the cats are attracting birds that could interfere with incoming or outgoing planes, but that strains credulity, in that the cats are inhabiting an area far from the runways. They are also doing a service by hunting and eliminating rats and other rodents.

The undeserved killing of these homeless felines, regardless of how it is done, is an unnecessarily ruthless solution to a dubious problem, particularly in light of offers from numerous humane-minded groups, including Neighborhood Cats, which advocates a Trap-Neuter-Return approach to feral cat colonies, to resolve the situation in a more civilized and compassionate way.