Park Officials Shot And Killed Homeless Cats And It Can Never Happen Again

Recently, officials with the East Bay Regional Park District took part in a deadly campaign to eliminate feral cats in the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline area in California. Park officials were shooting homeless cats in an effort to protect birds, but the program was suspended when area residents learned what was happening.

Shooting homeless cats, rather than working with rescue groups to remove them from the area, is unacceptable. Though the program was suspended after the public learned what was happening, plans must be put in to place to ensure that it NEVER happens again!

Please sign the petition today to let park officials know that the shoot-to-kill policy must never be utilized again.

Who's signing

If not for an ABC 7 I-Teams investigation, the shoot-to-kill program would likely remain in effect. But when people learned what was happening in the area, they demanded that it come to an end.

The investigators learned that the park staff had killed 18 cats in 2020, with 12 in the month of December along the East Oakland waterfront. People who had been working to keep the feral cat population under control were devastated when they found out that park officials had been killing the felines. Cecelia Theis told ABC 7:

"I just hope that they shot them quickly, that they did know what they were doing, and I hope that they didn't see each other get shot."

It is horrible to know that these cats were killed when other methods could have been utilized to remedy the issue. Humane traps, and adoption, should have been the go-to method for addressing the homeless cat situation...not "shoot-to-kill." Please add your name to the petition today - this must never happen again!

News:

ABC 7 News

Update 1/14/2021: Public Affairs for the East Bay Regional District Park sent the following message to Animal Victory:

Thank you for forwarding this petition. We will be sure to pass this along to our management for consideration. There is currently a temporary suspension to some wildlife management practices while we wait for our Board of Directors to reconvene to review policies and procedures related to the matter.

Please feel free to check our website www.ebparks.org for updates.

Update 1/4/2021: Read our letter to East Bay Regional District Park Officials here

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