Alley Cat Rescue Protects African wildcats in Kruger National Park through TNR

MT. RAINIER, Md., Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Alley Cat Rescue's team has sterilized and vaccinated over 1700 free-roaming cats as part of an international partnership to protect African wildcats in South Africa. The project aims to protect vulnerable populations of genetically pure African wildcats from hybridization by sterilizing free-roaming domestic and stray cats who live around their habitat in Kruger National Park.

In early October, Alley Cat Rescue hosted a successful workshop at the Kruger Park Lodge in Hazyview that included local South African TNR experts from Sabie, Hoedspruit, Phalaborwa, and Witbank. To gather more information on the elusive and rarely seen African wildcats, ACR is in the process of sending surveys to national parks throughout South Africa. The feedback will be used by ACR to better understand where African wildcats live and the extent of hybridization in the country.

The project has received generous support from the Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Fund, a foundation run by Helaine and Jon Ayers. Jon Ayers is the CEO of IDEXX Laboratories, a multi-national company that produces products and services for various animal-related applications.

ACR is using the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method to capture, treat, then return the free-roaming cats to their territory. TNR is widely practiced in the U.S. and abroad and is known as the safest and most humane way to manage populations of outdoor cats.

The African wildcat (Felis lybica) lives throughout the continent of Africa and in parts of Asia and the Middle East. They are currently listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement among countries to protect threatened and endangered species. African wildcats are not immediately threatened with extinction, but do need protection in order to ensure their survival.

About Alley Cat Rescue
ACR is an international nonprofit dedicated to the welfare of all cats: domestic, stray, abandoned, and feral. ACR advocates for humane, nonlethal control of feral cats. ACR has been awarded the Independent Charities of America's "Best in America" Seal of Approval, and its newsletter has won several awards from the Cat Writers' Association. ACR's Guide to Managing Community Cats was also awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the CWA.

SOURCE Alley Cat Rescue