For many decades, the descendants of abandoned, escaped and lost cats have roamed the terminals, grounds and runways at JFK. This has caused unsafe and unsanitary conditions throughout the airport. Kindly airport workers who leave food for these feral cats may unwittingly be attracting birds too. Birds fly into jet engines which may cause expensive repairs and dangerous flying conditions. Recently, “cat roundups” have taken place with the participation of federal wildlife officials. Sadly, most of these cats may be euthanized (because they're unadoptable) but their removal makes conditions safer for both passengers and air crews.
Seems logical enough, right? Not for some of the most vocal cat lovers it isn’t! Valerie Sicignano of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative volunteered her group to trap, neuter and vaccinate the cats for free. She said that cats that could be put up for adoption would be, but that the rest would be returned to the airport! The Port Authority rejected her group’s offer. I agree with the P.A.’s decision. It's common sense (which is far from "common" nowadays, it seems). Ms. Sicignano’s proposal was only a partial solution to a serious problem when only a complete solution will ensure safety. Animal activists do good deeds and deserve support ... to an extent. That extent being that they must come up with comprehensive ideas that rationally balance the people's rights with the animals they’re trying to protect.
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