Many species reside on NSU’s campus, though none more prevalent and controversial than the feral cats. On Aug. 5., NSU’s facilities management sent a message to their employees that, according to the Sun Sentinel, threatened termination for those who fed the cats and did not clean up after the food left out. Some NSU employees talked to the Sun Sentinel, with the animal activists reprimanding NSU for their decision.
Daniel Alfonso, vice president of facilities management at NSU, explained in his email to his employees, about why feeding cats was putting others at risk.
“I explained why you shouldn’t feed the cats because it attracts other animals and it causes health risks and I said that failure to abide by the directive could result in disciplinary action and termination. That’s standard language used in a directive,” said Alfonso.
Though the email mentioned that the employee could lose their job, that hasn’t happened just yet.
“Nobody has been fired, but I have had to counsel a few employees on not feeding cats close to the building,” said Alfonso. “If you’re going to feed cats, go away from the building and when you do it, stand there, wait until they finish it, and if they don’t eat it all, pick it up.”
Alfonso has dealt with the fury of unhappy animal activists.
“I’ve had people tell me they were going to spit in my face if they saw me,” said Alfonso. “A woman from Minnesota called me and told that I was starving the cats. I told her you are welcome to come to our campus and have a look at our cats. We have healthy cats all around our campus.”
In an attempt to lower and control the cat population, NSU has adopted a trap, neuter and return program to help contain the cat population. The cats are caught, brought to an animal hospital where they are then neutered and released back into their environment. As territorial animals, it is imperative that they are put back into their environment.
“The goal is that the cat remains on campus. In theory, no new cats will move into that area because they are territorial, and now they won’t have any more kittens,” said Alfonso.
Jeffrey Hoch, professor in the department of marine and environmental science at NSU said,
“I think the biggest risk of the animals on campus comes from the cats,” said Hoch. “Cats kill lots of animals, especially birds. There is a study that came out a few years ago that showed that feral cats kill billions of birds a year in the United States,” said Jeffrey Hoch, professor in the department of marine and environmental science at NSU.
Hoch believes that the TNR program is an intelligent one.
“The reason for the program is that cats are territorial. If you take one cat out, another will move in and take over its territory,” said Hoch.
Cats aren’t the only species that find themselves on NSU’s campus. Ducks, geese, iguanas and raccoons all call NSU home. When food is left out, other animals go out to get it, causing issues.
“If you leave the dry food behind, other animals are going to come. Geese don’t read. Ducks don’t read. Iguanas don’t read. You aren’t going to put a sign that says ‘cat food only, do not touch’. That’s the challenge we’re having with this,” said Alfonso.
With the TNR program in place, as well as controlled feeding, NSU is working to keep its environment in great shape.
