July 3, 2008

Feral cats at the JFK Airport have stirred a debate between transportation officials and cat lovers. (Pet Pulse Photo by Jose Alvarez, Illustration by Tim Mattston)

NEW YORK -- Demonstrators were outside the Port Authority headquarters last week, angry at how authorities were handling the issue of hundreds of feral cats living on the grounds of John F. Kennedy Airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey manages JFK Airport.

“The Humane Society and other rescue groups are baffled that the Port Authority and JFK suddenly said cats posed a problem, because they have been there for decades,” Patrick Kwan, New York state director of the Humane Society of the United States.

“There has never been an instance of a plane being brought down by a cat in the airport,” Kwan added.

Cats have not posed a significant problem to airplanes at Kennedy or any other airport nationwide, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Of the 80,000 reported incidents of animals striking planes that have been studied for the past 18 years, less than one percent were cat related.

“In each of the 14 cases that were identified in our database there was no damage to the aircraft or any type of injuries associated to the event,” said Michael Brown, manager of Airport Safety at the FAA.

Of the estimated 300 to 500 cats and kittens living at Kennedy Airport, cat advocates say that no cats have been reported near the runway.

“The cats are the descendents of lost pets that have gone on to spawn a new generation,” said Valerie Sicignano, director of the New York City Feral Cat Initiative.

“For decades, many of the airport employees have been caring for the cats,” Kwan said. “Some have been working on programs to trap, neuter and return.”

Trap, neuter and return, also known as TNR, is considered the most humane approach in dealing with feral cats, unlike the airport’s current strategy of exterminating them altogether.

“They hired an exterminator in May to round up the cats, and a few months ago they promised us a ban on trapping, but they went back on their word,” Sicignano said.

“The humane society is asking for the Port Authority and JFK to work with local humane groups to implement a trap neuter return program,” Kwan said. “It is a proven method and the only recognized humane method for feral cat population control.”

A spokesperson for the Port Authority declined comment, saying any comment they have made in the past has been misinterpreted.

“With all due respect, I think they presented some very disingenuous arguments at the beginning, that it was about security, and that the food for the cats was attracting seagulls,” said Michael Phillips, president of the Urban Cat League.

“There are seagulls at JFK because JFK is on the sea. A few dishes of cat food is not driving seagulls into the carbines of engines.”

The cat advocates’ efforts may finally pay off. Officials at a recent Port Authority public board meeting were heard saying “If they have a pilot program that is not going to cost the Port Authority any money, why don’t we at least try it?”

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