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Boycott Cat Wars and the Princeton University Press!

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Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site

This misleading book advocates the removal of cats from the outdoors "by any means necessary"


A book published by Princeton University Press contains dangerous and inflammatory content that advocates for the murder of cats.

_Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer_1 by bird advocate Dr. Peter Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and writer Chris Santella is a tirade against outdoor cats.

The book's extreme pro-bird and anti-cat views can be summarized in one horrific quote:

"From a conservation ecology perspective, the most desirable solution seems clear—remove all free-ranging cats from the landscape by any means necessary." (Cat Wars, pp. 152-153)

This proposal flies in the face of decades of animal rights and welfare legislation, giving carte-blanche to animal abusers who would kill cats and claim they were doing it to protect bird populations2.

The book even recognizes that it is "difficult to identify with any precision the relative impact of a mortality factor, such as the free-ranging cat, to all birds that make these journeys over such large spatial areas and wide expanses of time [...]" (p. 57). Despite the lack of concrete evidence indicating cats are the sole or even primary reason for the decline in bird populations3, Cat Wars advocates for the destruction of outdoor cats.

This unregulated, "by any means necessary" approach ignores the effectiveness of Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR)4 programs for managing feral cat populations and the important role they play in preventing a "vacuum effect5" of prey species overpopulation. According to Cat Wars, any cat found outdoors is a problem and should be "removed."

These extreme views are too dangerous to be ignored! We can't let Marra, Santella, or the Princeton University Press get away with or profit from the deaths of all outdoor cats.Join the boycott against Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer and the Princeton University Press and speak out against the book and publisher to your family and friends!

More on this issue:

  1. Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella, Princeton University Press (2017), "Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer."
  2. Rachel E. Gross, Smithsonian Magazine (20 September 2016), "The Moral Cost of Cats."
  3. Jim Daley, Scientific American (19 September 2019), "Silent Skies: Billions of North American Birds Have Vanished."
  4. Alley Cat Allies (2022), "Why Trap-Neuter-Return Feral Cats? The Case for TNR."
  5. Michigan State University Animal Legal & Historical Center (2006), "Detailed Discussion of Feral Cat Population Control."
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The Petition:

To the Princeton University Press,

I am writing today to express my complete disgust with your publication of Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer. This poorly researched tirade against outdoor cats is dangerous to the wellbeing and safety of cats across the country.

You should be ashamed for your role in helping spread these vile ideas!

The book recognizes that it is "difficult to identify with any precision the relative impact of a mortality factor, such as the free-ranging cat, to all birds that make these journeys over such large spatial areas and wide expanses of time [...]" (p. 57) Despite the lack of concrete evidence indicating cats are the sole or even primary reason for the decline in bird populations, Cat Wars advocates for the destruction of outdoor cats.

Its unregulated, "by any means necessary" approach ignores the effectiveness of Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR) programs for managing feral cat populations. According to Cat Wars, any cat found outdoors is a problem and should be "removed."

I will be boycotting this book and your press so long as you continue to publish it. I will also inform all my friends and family about this book's dangerous propositions and complete disregard for feline life.

Sincerely,

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Signatures: