Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) Specialist Report - Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return Programme
This report should be cited as: Campbell, R.D., Rawling, E., Langridge, K.V. and Tallach, N. (2023). Scottish Wildcat Action final report: Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return Programme. NatureScot, Inverness.
Authors and institutions: Roo Campbell, Scottish Wildcat Action, Emma Rawling, Scottish Wildcat Action, Keri Langridge, Scottish Wildcat Action, Nicola Tallach, Scottish Wildcat Action.
Year of publication: 2023
Keywords
Feral cat management; neutering; trapping; hybridisation; disease; volunteers; farm cats.
Background to SWA
The Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan (SWCAP) was published in 2013 following the input of over 20 partner organisations. This led to the establishment of the Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) project that ran from 2015-2020, funded by the Scottish Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund and others. SWA operated with a team of project staff managed by NatureScot, and associated work was carried out by various partner organisations. The overall work programme was steered by a group made up of ten of the partners. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Cat Specialist Group reviewed the work of the SWA, and other ongoing wildcat conservation work, and provided recommendations for future action (Breitenmoser et al., 2019). A wide range of topics relevant to wildcat conservation were covered during the SWA, and have now been published as a series of reports, of which this is one. These outputs will inform the next phase of wildcat conservation work in Scotland, including the SavingWildcats ‘SWAforLife’ project that runs from 2019-2026.
Wildcats hybridise with domestic cats and we use a combination of morphology and genetics to distinguish wildcats from domestic cats and their hybrids. The method applied is generally determined by the practicalities of management. For example, it is much easier to have high confidence in the pelage scores from a sedated cat, than from a camera-trap image taken at night. Genetic and pelage results can only be generated jointly in certain scenarios. Therefore, identifications under different situations have different levels of confidence associated with them. We therefore set different thresholds for identification of wildcats based on the ability to distinguish pelage and genetic characteristics in different situations. The confidence hierarchy, and the definitions used in this report, are given below
A 'wildcat' in this report is defined at level 4 as a cat with a 7Ps pelage score of 17+. Genetic information is not available prior to neutering unless a cat has been sampled previously.
Background
Hybridisation with, and disease transmission from, domestic cats have been identified as key threats to wildcats in Scotland. As companion animals, the management of domestic cat populations via lethal or non-lethal methods is highly controversial. Scottish Wildcat Action adopted a non-lethal approach to feral domestic cat population management known as Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return (TNVR), whereby cats are live-captured in cage traps, neutered and vaccinated, then returned to the point of capture. TNVR was used because a) it is a proven method of effective cat population control when used intensively in defined areas; b) returning neutered cats to previously held territories may help to prevent the influx of new, unneutered and unvaccinated individuals to wildcat areas; c) gaining wider public support for the conservation aims of the project, including encouraging local communities to voluntarily participate in feral cat control activity, and to neuter, microchip and vaccinate their own pet cats, would be difficult if lethal methods were employed. To achieve long-term changes in the feral domestic cat population, modelling suggests that an annual neutering rate of 75% of the population is required. Domestic cat × wildcat hybrids (hereafter termed ‘hybrids’) were also treated under the TNVR programme if they scored below the pre-defined pelage and/or genetic threshold.
Summary of work
- A detailed TNVR protocol with associated guidance were developed in collaboration with project partners, veterinary clinicians and cat-trapping experts. This was reviewed throughout the project and set high standards for welfare and the management of risk to target cats and wildcats.
- The TNVR programme was launched across all six Priority Areas from the second winter of the project (2016-2017) after systematic camera surveys during 2015-2016 identified feral and hybrid cats to target for trapping. This programme was managed by a contractor in the Angus glens and by Project Officers (with volunteer support) in all other Priority Areas.
- Camera traps were usually placed ahead of live-trapping to identify target cats and acclimatise them to bait. Camera traps were often managed by volunteers with staff or contractors focused on live-trapping. Most effort was focussed on trapping wild-living cats (i.e. those living at greater distance from humans) because they likely present a greater immediate risk to wildcats. But feral or farm cat colonies were also specifically targeted in Strathbogie, where there was a number of substantial farm colonies living in close proximity to wildcat areas.
- In all the Priority Areas, neutering and vaccinating was conducted by qualified vets. Veterinary contractors were employed in the Morvern Priority Area and local veterinary practices were used in all the other Priority Areas. If no signs of ownership could be found, trapped cats were neutered, ear-tipped, and vaccinated against feline panleukopaenia virus, also known as feline parvovirus (FPLV), feline herpesvirus (FHV) and feline calcivirus (FCV), which are both primary causes of the disease syndrome commonly called ‘cat flu’. Cats were screened for feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV – also known as ‘feline aids’) using SNAP tests. The project policy, following veterinary advice, was to euthanise any cat failing the SNAP test or exhibiting other signs of disease or injury that would adversely affect its welfare. When euthanasia was necessary it was carried out by a qualified vet, and not by the SWA project staff.
- Overall, we invested 3,652 trap nights in live-capture of cats. From the third winter (2017-2018) when wildcats were also targeted for genetic screening and GPS collar attachment, there was significant overlap in trapping for both TNVR cats and wildcats. Effort for capturing wildcats versus TNVR targets was not recorded separately.
- In total we captured 228 cats on over 262 occasions, including 205 that were feral cats and obvious hybrids (captured on at least 239 occasions). Another 12 feral and obvious hybrid cats from other sources were processed for TNVR. Bycatch was rare due to camera-led targeting, but included 13 pet cats, pine martens, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and a buzzard. Trapping was avoided at locations visited regularly by badgers and pine martens. The use of valerian lure reduced incidence of trapping non-target species.
- Overall effort (trap nights per target cat) was 16 (14 per capture). Effort per target cat improved from 16 nights in the first trapping year to 12 nights in the second, before declining to 33-40 nights in the third and fourth years, when the focus was on capturing wildcats over TNVR. Of the feral and obvious hybrid cats caught, 99 (43%) were colony-living farm cats, most of which were captured in Strathbogie. Excluding farm cats, effort per target cat was 28 trap nights (a low of 19 in the second year and a high of 40 in the fourth year, when the genetic screening and collaring of wildcats was the main focus).
- Thirty-nine volunteers contributed an estimated 544 days directly to TNVR. Recruiting volunteers to conduct trapping for TNVR was substantially more difficult than recruiting for camera-trap surveys.
- Identification of owned (pet) cats was a significant issue for project staff. Considerable time and effort were required on the ground to deliver local awareness-raising campaigns and identify cats in the community. A ‘Mog Shots’ gallery was introduced on the project website and promoted on social media, to help identify pet cats ahead of trapping. But this was ultimately of limited benefit. A system that placed the onus of identification with the pet owners through the microchipping of their pets, rather than with TNVR workers, would have greatly increased both the efficiency and efficacy of TNVR.
- Permissions from landowners to conduct TNVR were not always forthcoming. Some landowners who allowed us to survey on their ground did not subsequently allow trapping for TNVR. This was primarily the case for estates that conducted predator control activity (including for feral domestic cats). Farmers with colonies were not always amenable to the idea of trapping and neutering their cats. However, their concerns (primarily ‘running out’ of cats for rodent control) could usually be addressed, particularly after discussion with other farmers who had directly observed the benefits.
- Only a small proportion of the feral cats and hybrids trapped were reported to the project via the website, with the majority detected through volunteer survey cameras or directly through the community engagement work of the Project Officers. Local knowledge proved more helpful in identifying farm cat colonies and feral cats around settlements.
- The project benefitted from informal collaboration between Project Officers and the staff and volunteers of animal welfare charities, including the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), and Cats Protection (CP). For example, when assisting with large-scale TNVR and the holding and rehoming of stray cats and kittens.
- Based on the number of feral and hybrid cats estimated from camera surveys and discounting farm colonies, the 75% annual neutering rate needed for effective population control (Anderson et al. 2004) was not reached. On two occasions, approximately two-thirds of the population was neutered. Overall the 75% rate was difficult to attain with the resources available to the project and the often-conflicting demands of other field activities within the same time-limited season. TNVR targets were also difficult to measure because surveys concentrated on wild-living cats but farm cats were also neutered in some areas. Wild-living hybrids can behave similarly to wildcats and the difficulties we had identifying and trapping these was a key issue. But important lessons were learned, and with significantly more resources targeted at fewer locations, this high neutering rate may be achievable.
Acknowledgements
The SWA project was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It was also funded by the Scottish Government, NatureScot and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Support and resources for associated work was also provided by all the Steering Group members: Cairngorms National Park Authority, Forestry and Land Scotland, National Museums Scotland (NMS), Scottish Land & Estates, NatureScot, Scottish Wildlife Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, The Scottish Gamekeepers Association, The Scottish Government, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). In addition, Jenny Bryce and Fiona Strachan helped develop the project while Eileen Stuart, Alan Bantick and Andrew Kitchener chaired the Steering Group.
Additional sponsors, funders and contributors to SWA work included Aigas Field Centre, Ailsa Black, British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Cairngorm Brewery Company, Chester Zoo, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, John Muir Trust, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, Lukas Ruiter Production, MyPetOnline, NFU Scotland, petDetect, RSPB, Scotland The Big Picture, Swift Ecology and The Highland Council.
We are also very grateful to the many academics, landowners and managers, farmers, foresters, keepers, captive collection managers, veterinary specialists and others who contributed valuable time and effort, members of the public who contributed funds and support, and in particular the many volunteers who got involved in the project.
Our profound thanks go to the volunteers, contractors and vets who helped us with the difficult job of trapping and neutering. We couldn’t individually name all the volunteer field assistants, but the work would have been impossible to carry out without their help. They included Laura Braunholtz, Jen Clark, Claire Hill, Ana Luisa Barros, Kirstin Mair, Rhonda Newsham, Ana Morales González, Fiona Pamplin, Héctor Ruiz, Lara Semple, Laura Sessions and James Walker. Many thanks to our contractors; Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Kelsey Wilson, Kirstin Mair, Matt Wilson and Rhian Evans. Veterinary support came from Alice Bacon, Helen Wells, and staff at Aberlour Veterinary Centre; Dunnydeer Veterinary Group, Fraser & Fraser Vets, Seafield Veterinary Group, Strathbogie Veterinary Centre and Thrums Veterinary Group. Volunteers with Cats Protection and staff at the SSPCA were instrumental in helping us deal with some of the more challenging practical issues, such as neutering larger farm colonies and taking kittens into care. Matt and Rhian also kindly let us use their home as a base and clinic. Finally, thanks to the members of the public who informed us about feral cat issues in the Priority Areas.
1. Introduction
Hybridisation with domestic cats is a key threat facing wildcats in Scotland (Beaumont et al. 2001; Macdonald et al. 2004; Senn et al. 2019). One of the main tasks for SWA was to reduce the threat of continuing interbreeding with feral domestic and hybrid cats in Priority Areas. This report sets out the logic behind the approach adopted by SWA, the methods and results of the programme and recommendations for the future.
1.1 Why neuter?
There are two main approaches to the management of feral cat populations: lethal control (culling) and neutering. Neutering requires surgery to the reproductive organs of the cat and therefore the cat needs to be trapped unless it is socialised to humans, which, by definition, feral cats are not. It is standard practice to then return the cat to the point of capture because releasing a post-operative cat into a strange environment is considered poor welfare. Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR or TNVR where vaccination is included) is the standard term for this process. The scientific literature on TNR shows mixed results, with efficacy of the method dependent on the behaviour of the public in abandoning or neutering pet cats and the proportion of the feral cat population that was neutered (Bryce 2015).
TNR is reported to be successful in the long-term reduction of feral cat populations where neutering rates have been high (e.g. Neville and Remfy 1984; Gibson et al. 2002; Scott et al. 2002; Gorman and Levy 2004). Lethal control can also be an effective method of feral cat population control (e.g. Nogales et al. 2003; Winter 2004). However, there are situations where lethal control can have the opposite effect to that intended. For example, a study in Tasmania found that feral cat numbers increased as a result of a low-level culling programme, with controlled cats swiftly replaced by individuals from outside the control area (Lazenby et al. 2015). This perturbation of the cat population may bring with it an increased risk of disease transmission to wildcats when new feral cats move onto vacated territories, as has been proposed following the control of badgers (Meles meles) to eradicate Mycobacterium bovis (bovine tuberculosis), e.g. Tuyttens et al. 2001; Donnelly et al. 2006; Bielby et al. 2014. These new cats may not only carry new disease into the area, but scratches and bites that are inflicted as they establish new territories are likely a major route of infection of feline diseases such as FIV. Promoting lethal control of feral domestic cats and hybrids also carries additional risks for wildcats, and for pet domestic cats in wildcat Priority Areas, through unintentional killing. Due to these risks, in areas with wildcats, lethal control would also involve live-capture of cats to assess them prior to dispatch. This could reduce the overall efficiency of lethal control as a method, particularly compared with TNVR.
Scottish Wildcat Action focused conservation action in six Priority Areas (see the Monitoring and Surveys report for a review of the areas). These are discrete geographic areas where intensive TNVR could potentially achieve sufficiently high neutering rates to reduce the feral domestic and hybrid cat population. A long-term solution to the issues of feral domestic cats in the countryside must include public support to help identify the locations of feral cats, reduce abandonment of pet cats, and increase the neutering of pet cats (Loyd and DeVore, 2010). A survey of public attitudes to domestic cat management conducted ahead of the launch of the SWA project found a majority in support of encouraging pet cat neutering and other methods to reduce feral cats, such as discouraging feeding, and a majority (66%) also supported a TNR programme (Littlewood et al. 2014). Given these factors, and the risk that disease transmission may play in wildcat conservation (see the Disease Surveillance report), the management of feral and hybrid cats was conducted through a TNVR programme. We recognised that there may be no single solution to feral cat management and therefore did not oppose lethal control by estates within the Priority Areas where it was conducted without bringing risks to wildcats (see the Land Management report).
Modelling has indicated that annual neutering of 75% of the fertile feral cat population is needed for effective population control (Anderson et al. 2004), though lower levels of >50% may be sufficient provided there is no immigration (Schmidt et al. 2009). Neutering may result in lower immigration than lethal control and will require fewer cats treated because of this (Schmidt et al. 2009). Nevertheless, this is a challenging undertaking (Anderson et al. 2004) and the time-period to eradication of the feral population can exceed a decade (Nutter 2005).
SWA was a five-year project and, with the possible exception of Morvern, all of the project’s Priority Areas are likely to experience immigration of feral and hybrid cat populations from elsewhere. An intensive TNVR programme was therefore unlikely to lead to the eradication of the feral and hybrid populations within the five-year time-scale of the project. Thus, the expected outcome from such work would be to reduce, but not remove completely, hybridisation risk for any wildcats remaining in Priority Areas.
1.2 Initial aims
The need for feral and hybrid cat management through TNVR was highlighted under the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan (SWCAP):
2.4 Promote a co-ordinated approach to Trap-Neuter (vaccinate) and Release (TNR) of feral cats in priority areas.
- 2.4.1 Produce a protocol for an effective TNR programme. Operating guidance and contacts.
- 2.4.2 Promote reporting of feral cats to Cats Protection or local vets by farmers and crofters.
- 2.4.3 Support local volunteer groups to carry out TNR.
Alongside this, the project was asked by its key funder, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to:
“train approximately 180 volunteers (30m per priority area) to assist with the trapping, neutering and re-release of feral cats”.
1.3 General approach adopted during the programme
From the start, wild-living hybrid and feral cats were identified as those most likely to breed with wildcats because they inhabit territories alongside or overlapping those of wildcats. Feral cats around farms and settlements may present a lesser risk unless wildcats visit farms and settlements or those feral cats range further afield in the breeding season searching for mates. In order to neuter wild-living cats, their locations need to be identified. The project therefore decided to use the camera-trap surveys (see the Monitoring and Surveys report) as a way of identifying initial targets for neutering.
TNVR can potentially be conducted at any time of the year. However, our core TNVR activity in Priority Areas was focused on the winter season. This temporal focus was due to both the higher efficiency of trapping wild-living cats during the colder months, when there is a shortage of natural food and they are more likely to visit baited traps, and to avoid the risks of trapping in wildcat areas during the later phase of the wildcat breeding season, when females may be pregnant or have dependent young (March – August). The timing of field activities was necessarily interconnected, with camera-trap surveys also being conducted over winter, and the results of the surveys being used to subsequently target trapping effort. TNVR of farm colonies, or feral domestic cats in urban areas, could be conducted out-with the winter season where there was no risk to wildcats, particularly where cats were regularly fed by farmers or ‘carers’, because this makes them far easier to catch. This activity could be particularly time-consuming for Project Officers, and so had to be balanced against conflicting priorities. It was usually undertaken as a result of reports of feral cats from the community, rather than active attempts by project staff to locate neutering targets over the summer. Care also had to be taken when trapping domestic cats during their respective breeding season (spring through to autumn), to avoid the same potential welfare issues of pregnant females or dependent young.
Recruiting volunteers to conduct camera-trap surveys was vital to the project. The task is relatively straightforward (though not necessarily easy) and the incentive for the volunteers is that they could possibly see a wildcat on a survey camera. Some of these volunteers would also get involved in the more complex task of live-capture for TNVR. The project additionally advertised on its website for TNVR volunteers and made use of a small number of seasonal full-time ‘residential’ volunteers to assist in both surveying and live-capture and the management of other volunteers involved in these. These seasonal volunteers proved hugely important to the project. All volunteers were given training ahead of their involvement in the TNVR programme.
The TNVR programme began in the second year of the project (2016-2017) and was focused entirely on the capture of cats that were clearly hybridised or feral. From the third year, trapping aims also included the capture of wildcats for genetic screening and GPS collar deployment (see the Monitoring and Surveys report). However, TNVR and wildcat trapping efforts are not independent, since wildcat spatial distribution overlapped with all other wild-living cats, and some individuals could not be confidently assigned to ‘wildcat’ or ‘hybrid’ based on camera-trap photos alone, and a diagnosis (and subsequent action) was decided after sedation. Therefore, throughout this report, figures on trapping effort and capture rates related to all types of cat unless explicitly stated.
2. Methods
2.1 Timing
Preparatory camera trap surveys and pre-baiting with traps in-situ commenced in autumn 2016. Traps were secured (locked open with padlocks and the back door removed) to prevent tampering or accidental closure, and to allow time for the traps to ‘bed-in’ to the environment. No active trapping took place until the wildcat breeding season was over and any wildcat kittens were likely to be semi-independent and not at risk of capture. Camera-trapping of all trap sites helped to ensure there was no risk to very young wildcats. The active TNVR season ran from October to March with local variation in each Priority Area (for example, depending on cat sightings, volunteer availability, weather and access permissions). The winter focus was chosen to coincide with camera trap surveys providing current sightings data, and because the cold weather and lower availability of natural prey make cats more likely to visit bait stations. In addition, male wildcats range more widely during winter looking for potential mates and are therefore more trappable over a larger area. In most areas, trapping temporarily halted for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.
All trapping ceased by mid-March at the latest, as per TNVR protocols designed to reduce the risks of trapping either heavily pregnant cats (or females with dependent young) or other wildlife (particularly pregnant pine martens). Some PAs and sensitive sites ceased trapping at the beginning of March, or earlier if at-risk animals were detected by camera traps. Some opportunistic TNVR activity continued in Priority Areas over the spring and summer in limited cases, usually where individual feral cats or colonies were reported directly to Project Officers in areas where they were easy to catch (farms or back gardens) and presented no risk to wildcats. In some cases, Project Officers focused TNVR effort in concentrated bursts of one to two weeks of intensive activity, with a break before the next bout. This approach allowed staff time to recover (particularly from lack of sleep) and also allowed for coordinated timing with the local veterinary practices, who could not always conduct neutering at short notice.
2.2 Process
A detailed TNVR protocol (see Annex 1) with associated guidance was developed in collaboration with project partners, veterinary clinicians and cat-trapping experts. This protocol was continually reviewed throughout the project and aimed to implement best practice and set high standards for welfare and the management of risk to target cats and wildcats. A detailed protocol for the targeted trapping of wildcats is provided in the Monitoring and Surveys report and, unless otherwise stated, the methods set out below all related to TNVR. All TNVR was undertaken using techniques outlined in the TNVR protocol and every trap site went through the following stages:
2.2.1 Site Selection
Sites were selected based on a number of factors. The first factor was the known or suspected presence of a feral or hybrid cat based on camera trapping or public reports. Secondly, sites were selected based on ease of access and thirdly, welfare considerations for the individual. So, for example, if camera trapping found a cat visiting several locations, the preferred location to trap at would have the best vehicular access and provide better protection from the weather. A camera trap was placed for a minimum of one week beforehand to research each site. This helped ensure only target feral cats were trapped and also minimised conflicts with the presence of non-targets such as wildcats or pet cats.
2.2.2 Pre-baiting
Cage traps were placed in situ but inactive (locked open) with bait provided to attract cats. The pre-baiting period varied widely, depending on how often individual cats would visit the site and how motivated they were to reliably enter the trap and take food (or visit valerian lure). Cameras continued in operation to check for any non-target cats or other species that might affect trapping effectiveness, such as the presence of badgers.
2.2.3 Live capture
Traps (Figure 1) were generally run ‘live’ overnight (c.12 hours) for four to five nights per week, according to staff/volunteer availability and vet opening hours. Some traps were live for the full 24 hours over those days. Every trap was checked at least every 12 hours, or at least every eight hours if a potential wildcat was known to visit the trap location. Alternatively, a remote monitoring system was used (see 2.4), mainly where wildcats were the main target. With remote monitoring, during the first season of operation physical checks were conducted every 24 hours while the effectiveness of these systems was assessed. In later seasons, this rule was relaxed as the system proved reliable, with no captures going undetected by the monitoring devices.
Where local veterinary practices were being used to conduct the neutering operations (most cases), the vets had to be notified of the trapping work in advance. All trap sites were visited first thing in the morning (6-8am) and any captured cats were immediately evaluated for potential ownership (did they have a collar or a microchip, were they showing behaviours typical of feral cats etc). In most cases, the feral status of the target cat had been established beforehand, through communication with local people. Cats that were likely to be owned were released; cats that appeared to be stray (previously owned but now in poor health or condition) and obvious feral cats were taken to the vets. Where possible, the hybrid status of trapped cats was also evaluated in the trap (quickly to cause minimal stress), and the visible pelage often gave a clear indication that cats should be neutered (i.e. an obvious dorsal line extending down the tail). Cats with an unconfirmed or borderline pelage score were taken to the vets for assessment under sedation. Cats were transferred in situ from the trap to a ‘crushable’ transport cage (also known as a crush cage), which allowed the vets to sedate them without the need for physical contact.
During TNVR, the vets were called in advance to notify them of how many cats were being brought in for surgery. Generally vets asked that cats were delivered to veterinary practices as soon as they opened (between 8am and 8.30am). The vets would phone the Project Officer later in the day to notify them of a collection time, or to discuss potential problems (such as hybrid status, welfare issues, microchips or positive SNAP test results). Vets often sent photos of the sedated hybrid to the Project Officer for remote pelage scoring.
Live capture at farm cat colonies (Figure 2) followed a different procedure. Additional coordination was needed with the veterinary practice to ensure they had the capacity to process a large number of cats in one day and the work involved a larger team of trappers, drawn from staff, volunteers and other welfare organisations. Depending on the level of socialisation to humans, farm cats were either trapped overnight, or over the course of a few hours during the day. The most socialised could be approached closely enough to capture by hand. For large colonies, only a representative sample of the colony had blood samples taken for subsequent disease and genetic screening (see the Disease and Monitoring Surveys reports).
2.2.4 Release and post-capture follow-up
After surgery, healthy cats were collected and released by project staff, or occasionally by volunteers. Male cats were released in the afternoon after surgery. Female cats were almost always kept in overnight, either by the vets, or where they did not have capacity (e.g. in Strathspey) the female cats were collected and looked after by volunteers until their release in the morning. Female cats were usually kept in the crush cage with an additional cage attached to the front containing food and water. All cats were released at the same location where they were caught within 36 hours of capture, with the vast majority within 24 hours. Most cats were subject to post-release monitoring with camera-traps (Figure 3), and staff and volunteers continued to provide food for a limited time after trapping where possible, particularly in very cold weather. This was generally easy to do because cameras and bait remained in place to monitor or target other cats in the same location.
2.3 Staffing
Staffing of TNVR (site research, pre-baiting and active trapping, transfer to vets as well as aftercare of cats etc) varied according to Priority Area. In some areas, the Project Officer did the majority of the work due to the availability of volunteer help (see 4.2.4) or site access restrictions. In other areas, much more of this was delegated to local volunteers. In Angus, some volunteers assisted with the initial trap setup on pre-bait, but all later stages were conducted by contractors. All veterinary procedures (sedation, neutering etc) were carried out by licenced veterinary clinicians.
2.4 Equipment used
Automatic trap models used were Trapman® small and large cat traps; MDC Eezicatch® traps with mesh floors; MDC Eezicatch(R) cat traps; and Albion fox traps modified with 25m gauge mesh (the latter only for wildcat trapping). Manual cage traps (i.e. where the trapper closes the door manually and in close proximity, after the cat has entered) were successfully used in rare instances, usually in a garden where feral cats were used to being fed and would enter the trap immediately for food, allowing selective trapping of the feral cat versus any pet cats. Each trap was accompanied by a camera trap (mostly Spypoint trail cameras but also Cuddeback models, see the Monitoring and Surveys report) set up opposite the trap entrance to monitor all animals visiting the site, before and during the live trapping process. In the small number of cases where remote monitoring systems were used, these were usually MinkPolice trap alarm units, but SIM-enabled Acorn trail cameras were also used (Campbell and Griffith 2015). All traps were baited with food (quail, rabbit, tinned fish and wet or dry domestic cat food) and/or scents (salmon oil, catnip and valerian root). Cat urine, sourced from vets, was also found to be effective during initial trials but because of concerns around disease and risks to volunteers, this was not adopted as a lure.
2.5 Targets for TNVR
Traps were deployed where there was evidence of feral cat presence, either from camera-trap surveys or public sightings. In most areas, those individuals found closest to known wildcat territories or habitats were targeted first. Staff also responded to reports of feral cat colonies on farms. During the first year of TNVR (project year two), feral cats and obvious hybrids were targeted first rather than borderline hybrids; this precautionary approach was taken while volunteers, vets and staff gained more experience in pelage scoring. In the second year of TNVR, any individual scoring <17 on pelage score (Kitchener et al. 2005) was targeted for TNVR and some wildcats were also targeted for genetic screening (see the Morphology / Monitoring and Surveys reports) and GPS collar attachment (see the Ecology Report). During the fourth and fifth years of the project, more wildcats were targeted and staff more often adopted a trap-and-assess approach to TNVR decision-making as cats with pelage scores close to the 17 threshold were targeted. This change in strategy followed a review of data from camera-trap surveys that showed wildcats made up only a very small proportion of the wild-living cat population (see the Monitoring and Surveys report). From this, it was agreed with veterinary partners that the risk of not neutering a hybrid due to over-caution was greater than the risk of accidentally neutering a wildcat. During the fifth year of the project, TNVR was not the primary focus of work by project staff. Whenever a wildcat was known to visit a trapping location, wildcat trapping protocols were followed (see Monitoring and Surveys report).
2.6 Access permissions
Every TNVR site had landowner access permission. Major landowners giving permission included Forestry and Land Scotland and the Crown Estate in Strathavon. Not all estates managers who gave access for general wildcat survey work also gave permission for TNVR as some preferred to continue their own lethal control methods.
2.7 Training of local volunteers
Each Project Officer undertook training for their TNVR volunteers, utilising materials developed by Emma Rawling (TNVR Project Lead). Some chose to run in-depth events, others to train individual volunteers on a case by case basis. Every volunteer participating in TNVR was asked to sign a confirmation of method and training sheet to ensure protocols were followed. Generally, local volunteers required considerable supervision and continual input from POs during all stages of the TNVR process.
2.8 Contractors
Contractors were recruited to deliver TNVR in the Angus Glens PA due to the impracticalities of staff covering two Priority Areas at the same time. Due to staff shortages in year five, the contractor was also used for wildcat trapping in Strathbogie.
2.9 Pop-up TNVR clinics
Due to a lack of veterinary access in the Morven Priority Area (the nearest being over an hour’s travel time in either Fort William or on the island of Mull), the decision was taken to trial a ‘pop-up’ TNVR clinic in Morven (Figure 4). An intensive period of TNVR was undertaken at the end of the camera-trap survey period, using the sightings data to target individual cats and potential trapping locations. A vet was contracted to provide services for the period alongside a volunteer Veterinary Nurse. Equipment was either provided by the veterinary practice of the contractor, purchased by SWA or borrowed from other practices. An intensive four days of trapping, aided by three project staff members, was undertaken with a temporary treatment clinic set up in our local contractors’ home. This was a highly successful approach, treating eight cats in four days in the first trapping season and representing a good return for number of days of effort. During the second season, poor weather hampered trapping success and staff and vets used the spare capacity left from fewer captures to undertake further community engagement and neutering work on pet cats.
2.10 Vets
In almost all cases, cats were transferred to local veterinary practices for treatment as previously arranged and agreed with the local Project Officer. Veterinary practices differed widely in their capacity to assist with TNVR. Some of the smaller practices could only provide limited help, particularly when trapping clashed with other seasonally intensive activities such as lambing. Six different practices participated regularly, although at least three more were willing to receive cats from the project. Each participating practice was given an SWA introduction pack, a TNVR protocol and a sample kit for each cat. Each cat was delivered with an SWA admission form to ensure consistency of approach and accurate record keeping. Some costs were kept down by SWA providing SNAP tests from our own supplies. Unfortunately, an agreement for a vaccine manufacturer to donate vaccines to the project was cancelled and therefore vaccines were either supplied by the vet or purchased through the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.
2.11 Data collection and analysis
2.11.1 Number of individuals captured
Cat trapping was recorded in two ways. Firstly, project staff and contactors reported capture totals to the Steering Group quarterly or at the end of the winter season. Secondly, each cat that was processed in any way (i.e. taken to a vet or non-invasively sampled) instead of being released immediately (pet cats, non-target recaptured cats) had a procedure form completed (see the Monitoring and Surveys report). There were slight variations between these figures. For example, stray cats brought in by the public during TNVR would be classed as TNVR in the procedure forms but were excluded from trapping counts because they were not captured by project staff or volunteers. This resulted in the figures from procedure forms slightly exceeding those recorded by project staff. A project year ran from April to March inclusive. This was because the peak of the trapping season ended in March and the period matched the project reporting periods.
2.11.2 Trapping effort
Project staff estimated trapping effort based on the number of traps set to capture and the number of nights each was set. From years three to five, wildcats were also targeted for capture for genetic screening and GPS collar attachment (see the Monitoring and Surveys report). Since wildcats and non-wildcats often visited the same traps, the aims of trapping overlapped. Moreover, for some cats, deciding whether to neuter versus GPS collar (non-wildcat versus wildcat) was only made once the cat had been sedated. It was therefore not possible to record trapping for TNVR separately from trapping for wildcat capture. While pet cats and recaptures were usually excluded from trapping records, for the purposes of assessing trapping effort, individuals that were recaptured intentionally, such as wildcats that required GPS collar replacement or removal, were included. This is because the targeted recaptures required trapping effort. Because trapping colony cats requires much less effort per individual than capturing wild-living cats, trapping effort was also calculated excluding colony-living individuals. The total number of trap nights were not adjusted because trapping effort for colonies was not recorded separately and it was assumed that the effort involved for colonies was only a small proportion of the total (see Results, below). The only exception to this was for Morvern, where the colonies were very small and capture still required considerable effort. The colony status of cats was not recorded in quarterly and annual reports and so has been calculated from procedure form records.
2.11.3 Estimating proportion of cats captured
To estimate the proportion of the non-wildcat wild-living population processed through the TNVR programme, population figures from the two standardised surveys (or an average where two standardised surveys were conducted). See the Monitoring and Surveys report for details on population figures. Where spatially explicit capture recapture (SECR) population estimates were available, these were used minus the number of wildcats detected during the survey. Otherwise, the number of cats detected (known as the ‘minimum number alive’) less the number of wildcats was used.
2.11.4 Additional statistics
Once trapped, a cat had four possible outcomes. 1. It was a wildcat and would be released after sampling (and collaring for some); 2. It was a non-wildcat and failed a SNAP test, at which point it would be euthanised on welfare grounds; 3. It was a non-wildcat and passed the SNAP test, at which point it would be neutered, vaccinated and released; and 4. It passed the SNAP test and it was a kitten (<12 weeks in age) and therefore could be rehomed. These cat outcomes were recorded by project staff during years two and three alongside the number of volunteers assisting with TNVR.
3. Results
3.1 Number of captures and outcomes
A total of 240 procedures were recorded (Table 1) and 262 cats were recorded as captured. This included 13 pet cats over all years and 21 non-target recaptures in years three to five. Excluding these, 228 cats were captured, of which 205 were feral domestic or hybrid captures (Table 2). Pet cats and non-target recaptures are excluded from the main count and included separately. A year ran from April to March inclusive and no trapping was conducting in year one. For TN/cat figures, total is the total TN/total cats, while mean is average across years. Pets and recaptures are not included in the trap effort calculations (Table 2) and 23 wildcat capture events, though 25 procedures were recorded, see Table 1, because two wildcats were later reassessed as hybrid from pelage. A total of 215 non-wildcats were processed (Table 1), with the disparity in numbers between this and the 205 recorded captures partly arising from cats not captured by project staff and volunteers (including all cats from outside the Priority Area boundaries). Not all cats processed for TNVR were recorded as cat procedures, however. For example, a colony of 26 cats trapped had only 22 procedure records. It is not clear why this was the case, but indicates that the figures presented here are slight underestimates. Only cats initially assessed as wildcat were targeted for recapture, either for collaring or because they were later reassessed as hybrids and were targeted for TNVR. Probably, many more non-target recaptures were unrecorded and therefore while at least 215 individual feral domestic and hybrid cats, including 12 not trapped by the project, were processed (neutered and vaccinated, rehomed or euthanised), it is highly likely there were more than 262 capture events. Over years two to three, when the majority of feral domestic and hybrid cats were captured, 12 (7%) failed SNAP tests and 17 (10%) were kittens young enough to rehome (Table 3). SNAP test fails were more commonly associated with older male cats living in colonies. Colony-living cats made up half of the feral domestic and hybrid cats captured, of which most (79 of 115, Table 1) were from Strathbogie. About one quarter of these colony-living individuals (26), all from other Priority Areas, were classed as from small colonies (<five cats).
3.2 Trapping effort
The effect of trapping effort on the total number of cats captured was highly variable (Figure 5a) and effort ranged from 12 to 26 trap-nights per cat (overall 16 trap-nights per cat, Table 2). This was largely due to the capturing of cats living in colonies, particularly in Strathbogie. One example of the trapping of cat colonies is illustrative: a large farm colony was unidentified in Strathbogie. Following extensive groundwork by project staff and with the assistance of an SSPCA inspector, all 26 cats in the colony were trapped in one afternoon. Even smaller colonies were relatively easy in terms of trap-night effort, though considerable work may have been needed to set up the trapping. Discounting colony-living cats, the relationship between trapping effort and cat captures is clearer (Figure 5b). The first year of trapping (year two) involved 34 trap-nights per cat (Table 2). This was reduced to 19 trap-nights in year three as staff and volunteers gained experience. In years four and five, the effort per cat increased again to 40 and 33 trap-nights when wildcats were targeted.
Cat type |
Sch-eme |
Pheno-type |
Priority area |
Year 2, 16-17 |
Year 3, 17-18 |
Year 4, 19-20 |
Year 5, 19-20 |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
MV |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
SB |
46 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
79 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
SP |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
SS |
0 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
11 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
xPA |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
D |
Sub-total |
59 |
34 |
10 |
1 |
104 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
H |
SP |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
H |
SS |
0 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
H |
xPA |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
NW-C |
TNVR |
H |
Sub-total |
3 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
NW-C |
- |
Total colony |
- |
62 |
38 |
11 |
4 |
115 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
TNVR |
8 |
18 |
5 |
0 |
31 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
AG |
2 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
SA |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
SB |
1 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
SP |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
D |
SS |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
NW-L |
WcT |
D |
WcT |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
NW-L |
WcT |
D |
SB |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
NW-L |
- |
D |
Sub-total |
8 |
18 |
6 |
4 |
36 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
TNVR |
15 |
35 |
4 |
0 |
54 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
AG |
7 |
13 |
2 |
0 |
22 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
SB |
7 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
SP |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
SS |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
NW-L |
TNVR |
H |
xPA |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
NW-L |
WcT |
H |
WcT |
2 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
NW-L |
WcT |
H |
SB |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
NW-L |
WcT |
H |
SS |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
NW-L |
WcT |
H |
Sub-total |
17 |
35 |
6 |
6 |
64 |
NW-L |
- |
Total lone |
- |
25 |
53 |
12 |
10 |
100 |
NW |
Total |
D + H |
- |
87 |
91 |
23 |
14 |
215 |
Wc |
TNVR |
W |
AG |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Wc |
TNVR |
W |
SB |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Wc |
TNVR |
W |
SP |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Wc |
TNVR |
W |
Total |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Wc |
WcT |
W |
AG |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
Wc |
WcT |
W |
MV |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
Wc |
WcT |
W |
SB |
0 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
Wc |
WcT |
W |
SS |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Wc |
WcT |
W |
Total |
1 |
0 |
11 |
7 |
19 |
Wc |
Total |
W |
- |
2 |
5 |
11 |
7 |
25 |
Grand total |
- |
- |
- |
89 |
96 |
34 |
21 |
240 |
3.3 Volunteers
A total of 39 volunteers (Table 3) assisted in trapping directly, alongside the many more who assisted by setting and maintaining survey camera-traps to locate targets (see the Monitoring and Surveys report). These included 10 seasonal full-time volunteers who assisted in many aspects of the work including coordination of survey volunteers, maintaining survey cameras alongside the trapping tasks for both TNVR and wildcat trapping such as setting and checking traps and taking feral domestic and hybrid cats to the vet. The remaining volunteers assisted by monitoring cage traps but more rarely were able to transfer trapped cats from cages to transfer baskets and take them to the vet. Through direct involvement for TNVR or time spent as full-time volunteers assisting with aspects of the project including TNVR, volunteers contributed the equivalent of 544 days. In addition, an estimated 2,100 days were invested by other volunteers in setting and maintaining camera-traps to allow detection and monitoring of cats.
Year |
Trap nights (TN) |
Total cats |
Total exc. colonies |
Wild-cats |
TN/cat |
TN/cat exc. colonies |
Bycatch (Pets + re-captures) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 |
1229 |
79 |
36 |
2 |
15.6 |
34.1 |
7+0 |
3 |
1114 |
96 |
58 |
5 |
11.6 |
19.2 |
4+8 |
4 |
882 |
34 |
22 |
9 |
25.9 |
40.1 |
0+8 |
5 |
427 |
19* |
13 |
7 |
22.5 |
32.8 |
2+5 |
Total |
3652 |
228 |
129 |
23 |
16.0 |
28.3 |
34 |
Mean |
913 |
57 |
32 |
5.8 |
18.9 |
31.6 |
8.5 |
*including two cats previously trapped as wildcats, later reassessed as hybrid and recaptured for TNVR.
Priority Area |
Feral / hybrids |
Wildcat |
Cats TNVR |
SNAP test fails |
Kittens |
Volunteers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angus Glens |
22 |
2 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Morvern |
10 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
Strathavon |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
Strathbogie |
116 |
4 |
96 |
6 |
12 |
6 |
Strathpeffer |
24 |
1 |
19 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
Strathspey |
10 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
Total |
184 |
7 |
152 |
12 |
17 |
39 |
3.4 Proportion of cats captured
Using the first full camera-trap surveys in each area as a baseline and excluding cats processed from colonies (except Morvern), in any one year the percentage of feral domestic and hybrid cats trapped for neutering did not exceed 75%, while the 50% threshold was met on two occasions (Table 4). Including colony-living cats, in Strathbogie in years two and three, more cats were processed than estimated to be living in the area, but this was because the camera surveys would not have included most colony-living cats.
Table 4. Number (N) of feral domestic and hybrid cats processed, and as a percentage (%) of their population size estimated from camera surveys, in each year (Y). Cat processing figures exclude farm or colony-living cats, except in Morvern where colonies were all very small and a proportion was detected during the survey.
Priority Area |
Population size |
N Y 2 |
N Y 3 |
N Y 4 |
N Y 5 |
% Y 2 |
% Y 3 |
% Y 4 |
% Y 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Angus Glens |
38 |
9 |
18 |
4 |
0 |
24% |
47% |
11% |
0% |
Morvern |
9 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
. |
67% |
0% |
0% |
. |
Strathavon |
12 |
1 |
. |
. |
. |
8% |
. |
. |
. |
Strathbogie |
29 |
11 |
19 |
5 |
6 |
38% |
66% |
17% |
21% |
Strathpeffer |
52 |
4 |
14 |
. |
. |
8% |
27% |
. |
. |
Strathspey |
22 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
. |
23% |
5% |
9% |
. |
3.5 Change in cat recruitment
Two of the Priority Areas, Angus Glens and Strathbogie, had consistently higher processing rates for cats. Based on full surveys in years one and three and informal surveys for the purpose of TNVR in years two and four, the mean pelage score of recruits into the cat population (cats not detected in prior surveys) did not change from years two-four (Figure 6).
4. Discussion
4.1 Trapping success and impacts
4.1.1 Capture rates
Trapping success peaked in year three of the project, where the mean number of trap nights per cat was 11.6 including all cats and 19.2 for wild-living cats (i.e. excluding farm cats). This latter figure is equivalent to 0.052 cats per trap night. This is a higher rate than reported by either Campbell (2015) of 0.035 cats per trap night for wild-living cats (including hybrids) in Scotland, and three times that reported by Potočnik et al. (2002) of 0.017 cats per trap night reported for wildcats in Europe. Similarly low values have been reported for wild-living feral cats in New Zealand, e.g. 0.007 for cage-trapped feral cats from an eradication programme on Little Barrier Island, and 0.010 in 1996 with cage-trapping (alongside spotlighting) on Macquaire Island (Parkes et al. 2014). The relatively high success rates for the project may partly reflect that while the cats targeted were largely living wild (feral), some will have been associated with settlements, making trapping easier. For example, an Australian eradication programme found a success rate of 0.094 cats per trap night for cats that scavenge around rubbish tips, versus an overall success rate of 0.008 for both wild-living and scavenging cats (Short et al. 2002). The high success rate will also reflect the highly intelligence-led targeting of trapping effort, using camera-traps and local knowledge to guide trap placement and to assess pre-baiting success. The tens of thousands of camera-trap nights effort along with the various other tasks that underpinned live-trapping are not factored into this measure of trapping success, though camera-trapping requires an order of magnitude less input by staff and volunteers per unit effort than live-trapping. When the project focused on trapping wildcats, annual success dropped to between 32.8 and 40.1 trap-nights per cat (0.030-0.025 cats per trap-night). Compared with the Potočnik et al. (2002) study, these figures are still impressive and overall, the trapping success figures illustrate the effectiveness of the camera-first, trap-second approach adopted by SWA. A notable change to the project’s approach that helped improve trapping success between years two and three in the Angus Glens was a move to more trap-and-assess decisions instead of avoiding targeting cats that were borderline on pelage score. This allowed more choice of location and meant that decisions to open a trap from pre-bait were made more quickly. In most instances where a cat was scored borderline on pelage from camera trap images, assessment while sedated indicated it scored as a hybrid. This shift in approach also occurred elsewhere to a lesser extent, but the main reason trapping success improved in year three was the increased experience of staff and volunteers and better local knowledge.
4.1.2 Proportion of population captured
Despite the relatively high success rate, the project did not succeed in capturing 75% of the wild-living population in any one year, though two-thirds were caught on two occasions. Trapping such a large proportion of the population was undoubtedly made more difficult by the targeting of wild-living cats, though ensuring such cats are neutered will be essential to reduce the risk of further hybridisation. Cats living in farm colonies may also present a risk for hybridisation (indeed, many of those were found to be hybrids based on genetic assessments, see the Monitoring and Surveys report). However, the numbers of those in each Priority Area were not known and therefore it is impossible to establish whether the high number of these processed during the TNVR programme (about as many cats again as were captured in the wild) represent 75% of the unneutered farm cat population.
That 66% of wild-living cats in Strathbogie were caught in year three was largely due to the resources applied to TNVR in that area: The SWA Project Officers were normally responsible for two Priority Areas, with the Project Officer for Strathbogie also covering Strathavon. The decision to withdraw from Strathavon allowed greater investment of staff and, consequently, volunteer time on TNVR in Strathbogie. Had more resources been similarly concentrated on the other Priority Areas, a higher proportion of the wild-living population may have been caught in those areas in some years too. Note however that the estimated numbers of wild-living feral and hybrid cats were greater in the Angus Glens, Strathpeffer and Strathspey areas than in Strathbogie. The staff resources required to achieve the 75% threshold are clearly significant and for areas with substantial wild-living feral and hybrid cat populations, more than one staff member per Priority Area would be required. Other issues experienced around TNVR are discussed below.
4.1.3 Impacts on the population
No change was observed in the quality (based on pelage) of newly recruited cats into the population for the two Priority Areas were the most effort was put in to trapping and monitoring. This does not indicate that the TNVR programme did not achieve some impact on the population but within the timescales of the project, ensuring population change is challenging and accurately measuring the long-term impact on the wild-living cat population was not possible. Note that cats classed as domestic or hybrid based on pelage often scored lower on genetic tests (see the Monitoring and Surveys report) compared with individuals scoring as wildcat, though there was overlap in genetic scores between the cat pelage groups.
4.2 Issues around finding and trapping feral cats
4.2.1 Working with other organisations
4.2.1.1 Coordination of work
Cats Protection (CP) also undertook neutering of feral cats in most of the Priority Areas. While the project developed good working relationships with CP volunteers in some areas, in two Priority Areas, there was no such relationship. This may have been due to false reports that the project was conducting lethal control in the Priority Areas. This led to duplication of effort and wasted time for vets, staff and volunteers. In at least three cases, feral cats were targeted by our teams that, when presented at vets, turned out to be already neutered by others. In those cases, the cats had not been marked using the standard ear tipping method to indicate the cat as treated, so staff were unaware of their status. However, in areas where SWA had working relationships with CP volunteers and SSPCA staff, the project benefited by being able to concentrate activity at locations where these organisations rarely worked, for example on wild-living cats not associated with human areas (e.g. settlements or waste ground). Furthermore, on occasion, the organisations were able to team up to tackle larger tasks such as some farm colony neutering in Strathbogie.
4.2.1.2 Dealing with kittens
Kittens can present a problem as SWA is not a welfare organisation (unlike CP or the SSPCA) and therefore did not have facilities to hold kittens. Kittens trapped before the age of 8-12 weeks require holding until they are old enough to neuter. This required coordination with CP, SSPCA and others who had facilities to hold kittens. Without the help of these organisations and individuals, targeting mothers with kittens would not have been possible and the unexpected capture of kittens would have created a problem for staff. Future neutering programmes need to ensure they have access to facilities to hold kittens either through relationships with other organisations or by maintaining the facilities within the programme.
4.2.2 Identifying pet cats
A large amount of Project Officer time was spent in preparatory work trying to ensure pet cats were not accidentally targeted or caught during TNVR. This was communicated through posters, leaflet drops through letterboxes (for at least a one-mile radius of trapping sites) and website and social media publicity. For example, a ‘Mog Shots’ gallery was trialled on the project website where camera-trap images of suspected pet cats were posted. Web and social media posts produced few results and most information on pets was gathered locally. In some areas, such as Strathpeffer, this task was especially time-consuming and represented a large proportion of staff time on TNVR. There, staff adopted an innovative approach using a Community Cat Board (Figure 7). Overall this work constituted vastly more effort than any other organisation conducting TNVR typically invests and was undertaken largely because the project pro-actively found cats, whereas other organisations normally reactively trap cats following reports from the public. If all pet cats were identifiable through microchipping, this work would have been unnecessary. Compulsory microchipping of pet cats would greatly benefit future feral cat management.
4.2.3 Lack of feral sightings from the public
Most TNVR was undertaken on target feral cats and hybrids identified from camera surveys. The number of such cats reported by the public was very low (see the Monitoring and Surveys report) and needs to be encouraged in the future. Low reporting could have been caused by some of the public believing the false reports about the project’s use of lethal control, the difficulty people have in identifying a feral cat from pets, and that reporting feral cats instead of wildcats or hybrid cats is not as interesting to the public.
4.2.4 Working with volunteers
Many local volunteers helped with camera traps and pre-baiting cage traps. However, only a small proportion of those were also able to help in the process of capture and transport to the vet. Reasons for this are varied and include the constraints from other commitments (e.g. employment and parenting responsibilities). Checking a trap can be done before work for example, but if a cat is captured, the handling and transport time could conflict with other duties. Following neutering, the cat needs to be collected from the vet ahead of closing time. Overall, it takes exceptionally dedicated volunteers, who have flexibility in their other commitments, to invest time and energy in TNVR. In addition, it takes time for such a volunteer to build up the experience to work independently of project staff. Future projects should not expect to rely heavily on volunteer contributions to cat trapping and staff will usually be needed to carry out many of the more difficult duties. If volunteers are to be used for TNVR, recruiting and training a small number of individuals who have the time will be most effective.
4.2.5 Access permission for trapping
Permissions to conduct TNVR were not always forthcoming. Some landowners who allowed us to survey on their ground would not subsequently allow trapping for TNVR. This was primarily the case for estates that conducted predator control activity (including for feral domestic cats). The killing by land managers of a feral or hybrid cat that the project had neutered would be a poor welfare outcome and a waste of project resources. Therefore access refusal doesn’t necessarily create a problem. However, if the project detected a wildcat and was unable to trap because the landowner did not want any feral or hybrid cats, caught as by-catch, neutered and returned, this refusal of access could be frustrating. If future projects have a moratorium on all lethal methods, except euthanasia on welfare grounds, then an alternative strategy for releasing neutered feral or hybrid cats may need to be sought. For example, releasing the cat at an alternative location. Farms with colonies were not always amenable to the concept of trapping and neutering their cats, but their concerns (primarily ‘running out’ of cats for rodent control) could usually be addressed, particularly in discussion with other farmers who had directly observed the benefits. Nevertheless, the time taken to negotiate access from landowners and farmers needs to be considered when planning trapping programmes.
5. Conclusions and recommendations
SWA’s TNVR programme established an excellent system for ensuring highly effective live-capture alongside good welfare. With a higher capture success rate in capturing wild-living domestic and hybrid cats than most programmes targeting wild-living cats, the camera-first, trap-second approach should be one adopted for future work. Volunteer input through surveys was extremely helpful to the work while the programme established good relationships with a number of stakeholders including vets, workers with welfare organisations and landowners. Despite this success, a sufficiently high proportion of the wild-living populations were trapped too rarely to ensure long-term population change. Reflecting on this, a number of recommendations might, if applied, ensure greater success in the future:
- Compulsory microchipping of pet cats so that TNVR workers are better able to identify pets without investing in significant legwork to do so.
- Recruiting volunteers to conduct cat live-capture for TNVR is difficult and something that welfare organisations also find challenging. This is because it can be difficult and dirty work. Conservation and welfare organisations need to work together to ensure that more volunteers from a variety of backgrounds can be recruited. Even so, the ability of volunteers to take the strain of domestic and hybrid cat management should not be over-anticipated. In most situations, paid workers will need to conduct most of the trapping to ensure population change results from a TNVR programme.
- While the cat populations and issues around their management will be different in different areas, all else being equal, a minimum of one full-time staff member is needed to ensure sufficient trapping rates for TNVR per 200km2 of management areas (equivalent to approximately 1.5 staff per Priority Area).
- The need for accurate monitoring needs to be balanced against the need for rapid and effective cat trapping. Reducing the time each camera is at a location prior to setting cage-traps may lessen our ability to assess population density accurately from the cameras. But swifter follow-up on detected cats, and the ability to move cameras more freely when no cats are detected in the first two to three weeks, will improve trapping efficiency and may allow more individuals to be identified for trapping.
- For the long-term management of feral and hybrid cats in Scotland, a regional or national approach will be required.
6. References
Anderson, M.C., Martin, B.J. & Roemer, G.W. 2004. Use of matrix population models to estimate the efficacy of euthanasia versus trap-neuter-return for management of free-roaming cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 225, 1871-1876.
Bielby, J., Donnelly, C.A., Pope, L.C., Burke, T. & Woodroffe, R. 2014. Small-scale badger culling for TB control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111, 9193-9198
Bryce, J. 2015. Feral cat management: Justification for proposed Wildcat Action approach. Background paper A1288389, Scottish Natural Heritage. 14pp.
Campbell, R.D. 2015. Spatial ecology of the Scottish wildcat. Final Report. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford. 105 pp.
Campbell, R.D. & Griffith, M. 2015. The use of remote cameras for monitoring cage traps during animal trapping. Ecological Research. 30, 963-967.
Donnelly, C., Woodroffe, R., Cox, D. et al. 2006. Positive and negative effects of widespread badger culling on tuberculosis in cattle. Nature 439, 843–846.
Gibson, K.L., Keizer, K. & Golding, C. 2002. A trap, neuter, and release programme for feral cats on Prince Edward Island. Canadian Veterinary Journal 43, 695-698.
Gorman, S., & J. Levy. 2004. A public policy toward the management of feral cats. Pierce Law Review 2:157–181.
Kitchener, A.C., Yamaguchi, N., Ward, J.M. & Macdonald, D.W. 2005. A diagnosis for the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris): A tool for conservation action for a critically-endangered felid. Animal Conservation 8, 223–237.
Lazenby, B.T., Mooney, N.J. & Dickman, C.R. 2015. Effects of low-level culling of feral cats in open populations: a case study from the forests of southern Tasmania. Wildlife Research, 41, 407-420.
Littlewood NA, Campbell RD, Dinnie L, Gilbert L, Hooper R, Iason G, Irvine J, Kilshaw K, Kitchener A, Lackova P, Newey S, Ogden R, Ross A. 2014. Survey and Scoping of Wildcat Priority Areas. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 768
Loyd, K.T., & DeVore, J.L. 2010. An evaluation of feral cat management options using a decision analysis network. Ecology and Society 15, 10.
Neville, P.F. & Remfy J. 1984. Effect of neutering on two groups of feral cats. Veterinary Record, 114, 447-450.
Nutter, F. 2005. Evaluation of a trap-neuter-return management programme for feral cat colonies: population dynamics, home ranges and potential zoonotic diseases. Dissertation, comparative Biomedical Science, North Carolina State University.
Nogales, M., Martin, A., Tershy, B.R. Donlan, C.J., Witch, D., Puerta, N., Wood, B. & Alonso, J. .2003. A review of feral cat eradication on islands. Conservation Biology 18 (2), 310-319.
Parkes, J., Fisher, P., Robinson, S., & Aguirre-Muñoz, A. 2014. Eradication of feral cats from large islands: an assessment of the effort required for success. New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 38, 307-314.
Potočnik, H., Kljun, F., Raçnik, J., Skrbinšek, T., Adamiç, M. & Kos, I., 2002. Experience obtained from box trapping and handling wildcats in Slovenia. Acta Theriologica 47, 211-219.
Schmidt, P.M., Swannack, T.M., Lopez, R.R. & Slater, M.R. 2009. Evaluation of euthanasia and trap–neuter–return (TNR) programmes in managing free-roaming cat populations. Wildlife Research. 36,117-125.
Scott, K.K. Levy, J.K.& Crawford, C.P. 2002. Characteristics of free-roaming cats evaluated in a trap-neuter-return programme. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association 221, 1136-1138.
Senn, H.V., Ghazali, M., Kaden, J., Barclay, D., Harrower, B., Campbell, R.D., Macdonald D,W. & Kitchener, A.C. 2018. Distinguishing the victim from the threat: SNP‐based methods reveal the extent of introgressive hybridisation between wildcats and domestic cats in Scotland and inform future in situ and ex situ management options for species restoration. Evolutionary Applications, 12, 339-414.
Short, J., Turner, B. & Risbey, D. 2002. Control of feral cats for nature conservation. III. Trapping. Wildlife Research 29, 475 - 487
Tuyttens, F.A.M., Delahay, R.J., Macdonald, D.W., Cheeseman, C.L., Long, B. & Donnelly, C.A. 2000 Spatial perturbation caused by a badger (Meles meles) culling operation. Implications for the function of territoriality and the contrological of bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis). Journal of Animal Ecology. 69, 815–828.
Winter, L. 2004. Trap-neuter release programmes: the reality and the impact. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 225, 1369-1376
ANNEXES
Annex 1: Example guidance for TNVR
1. Introduction
What is TNVR?
TNVR stands for Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return, sometimes also known as TNR (Trap Neuter and Release), and is a non-lethal method of controlling feral cat populations by preventing an individual’s ability to breed and therefore reducing the reproduction rate of the whole population so the overall numbers decline over time.
Why are we doing TNVR to help wildcats?
Though domestic cats (whether house cats, unowned stray or feral cats) are distinct from the Scottish wildcat, they are similar enough that they can breed together and produce fertile offspring. This is called hybridisation (also known as crossbreeding or interbreeding). If the resulting hybrids breed with each other or with other domestic cats or wildcats (backcrossing), this is known as introgressive hybridisation. Introgressive hybridisation is a serious threat to the survival of our native wildcats. If this continues unchecked, with each successive generation there are fewer and fewer wildcat genes in each cat and less chance of the long-term survival of wildcats as a distinct Scottish wild animal.
The TNVR programme is a key part of the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan, which is being implemented to try to halt the loss of our distinctive wildcats. TNVR work is being focused in six key areas in Scotland (known as Wildcat Priority Areas) where we believe there are wildcat populations with the best chance of being sustainable long term, with our help. Reducing numbers of fertile feral cats and poor quality hybrids is key to the success of this plan.
The Aim of our TNVR programme
- To prevent feral cats breeding with native Scottish wildcats (hybridising), which has been identified as one of the greatest threats to them.
- To prevent obvious hybrid cats that show clear signs of domestic cat ancestry breeding further with wildcats.
- To stabilise and then reduce the number of feral and obvious hybrid cats in Wildcat Priority Areas for the long term.
- To reduce the risk of disease transmission to wildcats from feral cats through vaccination of the feral population.
- To contribute to the public’s awareness of wildcats and their needs, and to help control future threats to them by promoting responsible pet cat ownership in local communities.
The guiding principles for our TNVR programme
- The welfare and safety of all cats is of the highest importance at all times; we will minimise injury, stress, fear and trauma of all cats.
- The aim is to avoid accidental trapping of wildcats and ensuring any wildcats encountered are dealt with appropriately under their own specific protocols (see page 14).
- The TNVR programme is well coordinated and targeted in order to be effective and maximise the percentage of the local feral cats treated, so that it is effective as a means of population control.
Definitions of the different types of cat
The Scottish wildcat is not the same thing as ‘wild-living’ or ‘free-living’ cats; the latter are just domestic cats living without an owner in towns or countryside. Domestic cats can be pets, stray or feral – they are all domestic cats in genetic origin.
A Scottish wildcat is: a unique native mammal. They are not the same physically, genetically or behaviourally as domestic cats of any type.
Domestic cat types include:
- Pet cats: Owned by someone, socialised to people and the legal property of the owner.
- Stray cats: Once owned but have been dumped or gone astray and are free-living. They are tolerant of people to some extent, and may be re-homable if well socialised. They may be treated under the TNVR programme if no owner is found, or referred to an animal welfare charity.
- Feral cats: Free-living cats with little or no direct human interaction or dependency, and not socialised so likely to avoid human contact. They are most often born in a free-living situation in the town or countryside. A feral cat cannot be rehomed successfully, unless they are caught at less than 12 weeks of age. A feral cat is by definition un-owned and ‘out-with human control’.
A hybrid feral cat: Is a free-living feral cat that shows obvious appearances of being of mixed ancestry. They behave and are treated as feral cats. If they are allowed to continue cross-breeding, they will further dilute the wildcat gene pool. They are assessed individually for their pelage similarity to wildcats and those with low levels (‘obvious hybrids’) will be neutered as feral cats.
Thresholds for neutering – distinguishing a wildcat from other cats: We employ an identification criterion developed by Andrew Kitchener at the National Museum of Scotland and colleagues1. This scores seven pelage characteristics (coat pattern and tail shape) from 1 (likely domestic cat) to 3 (likely wildcat) to arrive at a score out of 21. As a project, we employ a threshold score of 17, below which we consider the cat has too few wildcat characteristics to be of conservation value and therefore should be neutered. However, reliable pelage scoring is difficult from some trail-camera images and cats caught in cage traps. Since neutering is an irreversible procedure, we adopt a cautionary approach to the threshold except in specific circumstances where detailed information is available (see Annex D for a flow diagram):
- If the cat scores ≥17 on pelage characteristics it is a wildcat. You must inform the SWA Project Officer immediately. Wildcats must be released within four hours of discovery in a trap.
- If the cat is clearly not a wildcat (e.g. it scores 14 or less on pelage characteristics, often associated with a thin pointed tail, a dorsal stripe running down the length of the tail and sometimes white feet or a large white patch chest), then it can be taken to the vet for neutering.
1 Kitchener, A. C., N. Yamaguchi, J. M. Ward, and D. W. Macdonald (2005). A diagnosis for the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris): a tool for conservation action for a critically-endangered felid. Animal Conservation 8 (03), 223-237.
- If you are not confident the cat falls within either of the above categories and a prior decision has not been made by SWA staff based on trail-camera evidence, then you must inform both the SWA Project Officer and Project Manager immediately. The cat will require further assessment, either in the trap by the Project Officer or under sedation at the veterinary clinic, in coordination with SWA staff. The SWA staff will guide you on this. If it is not possible to achieve any of the above steps within four hours of discovery in the trap, the cat must be released. Conferring with SWA staff in this way is a laborious process that increases the length of time cats are held. We would like to avoid this where possible. Collecting clear images of cats from trail-cameras prior to live-trapping will help avoid this situation and is important for efficient TNVR.
Thresholds for neutering – distinguishing a pet cat from other cats: It can be hard to tell pet, stray and feral cats apart when they are trapped- any cat in a frightening and stressful environment may act aggressively and avoid human contact. Both owned cats and feral cats can look underweight, ill or have neglected coats, so you can’t judge on appearances.
Look for: |
Feral Cat |
Pet or Stray Cat |
Microchipped or wearing a collar |
no |
possibly |
Have ear tip removed |
possibly |
No, but may have fight trauma to ears |
Will approach people/cars for food |
no |
possibly |
Body language furtive & slinky at all times around people |
yes |
possibly |
Makes eye contact with people |
no |
yes |
Will call, purr or meow to you |
no |
possibly |
Seen around during the day, rather than mostly at night |
possibly |
yes |
When trapped, it approaches the front of cage and calls/ touches you given time |
No- will hide in the back |
possibly |
Will avoid human touch at all times, and reacts aggressively if touched |
yes |
possibly |
Will respond to sound/smell of food packets etc |
no |
yes |
Stays tense and unrelaxed whenever people are around |
yes |
possibly |
NB: The rest of this guide assumes the cats you will be dealing with are feral cats (and low quality feral hybrids) as this is our target group for TNVR. We will refer to all these cats in this guide as ‘ferals’. |
If a cat is showing the majority of these signs it can be assumed to be feral |
If a cat is showing more than one or two of these signs, you need to do further checks to determine if it is owned. |
2. Cat Welfare
The overriding principle is: all cats are afforded legal protection from cruelty under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and should be treated humanely. The TNVR programme must be carried out in such a way as to minimise stress, fear and injury at all times and the cat’s basic needs for food, water and shelter must always be met. The goal is for a cat to pass through the TNVR process as quickly and efficiently as possible, with the minimum of handling.
Feral cats are fearful of people by definition and this must be remembered at all times when trapping. The whole experience of being trapped and transported to a veterinarian can be stressful. Feral cats will not communicate their needs to you so it is essential that you stay quiet, calm and conscious of the cats’ well-being at all times. It is important to know and recognise the signs of stress and fear in cats in order to respond and minimise these. A stressed cat may display one of more of the ‘Four F’s’: fight, flight, freeze and fuss or fiddle (such as over-grooming or self-mutilation).
Stress |
Extreme Stress |
Yowl or hiss and strike out at you |
Go quiet in “shut down mode” but may ‘explode’ |
Hide at rear of the cage, cower |
Throw themselves violently around the cage |
Trembling, over-grooming |
Self-biting/mutilation |
N.B. If any signs of extreme stress are noted, action should be taken immediately to reduce stress. |
Some examples of stress minimisation are:
- Keep loud noises to a minimum (e.g. never shout or have a loud radio on in a car with cats)
- Keep the trap covered at all times as darkness is relaxing; avoid the temptation to lift the covers frequently to check the cat.
- Do not place trapped cats near strong smells, especially of potential predators such as dogs (e.g. not in the same part of a vehicle). Do not smoke near feral cats.
- Confine cats to cages for the minimum required time, and release them as soon as possible.
3. Handling feral cats
During TNR, handling feral cats is undesirable for the cat and you, and should be avoided wherever possible to reduce trauma and stress. The whole technique is designed to be as ‘hands off’ as possible and you should not need to handle the cats directly. Do not attempt to handle a feral cat outside the trap, no matter how docile it appears - it may struggle and injure you or itself in the process. Take special care when transferring cats from one cage to another as escapes are a real risk and the cat can be harder to re-catch.
It is especially important not to open the trap or try to touch a conscious or semi-conscious feral cat (for example during neutering recovery) as their disorientation can make them very defensive. The vet team will only handle these cats when they are sedated or under anaesthetic.
Always wear gloves when handling traps with cats inside (even if covered) as their claws can pierce covers.
N.B. Always behave calmly, quietly and patiently around trapped cats and touch them as little as possible for their own sake. |
4. Your health and safety
As a contractor, you will be expected to comply with all relevant project health and safety guidance, as well as taking responsibility for assessing and managing your own risks. In addition to risks associated with working in the field, we would recommend you consider:
Handling cats: Stay safe by avoiding all handling of cats, no matter how tame you think they are; remember that some cats go very quiet or freeze under stress but they can still lash out. The risk of bites, even from kittens, can be very high if you try to handle feral cats – avoid this at all times.
Disease: Toxoplasmosis can be an issue for pregnant women, as this parasite can be caught by people from cat faeces. Cat faeces can also carry a number of other potentially infectious organisms (e.g. salmonella, campylobacter) so all operators must practise good preventative hygiene. It is preferable for pregnant women not to be undertaking TNVR, and any pregnant woman must ensure while handling any traps or cats that they wear gloves and wash their hands and use disinfectant gel immediately afterwards. Do not eat, drink or smoke until after you have disinfected your hands. Always change your clothes and wash your hands before handling your own pets when you get home, to avoid any risk of transferring cat diseases to them. The risk of you contracting any other diseases from the cats is very low so long as handling is minimal, and provided you take sensible precautions with faeces and other biological materials, such as wearing plastic gloves.
Injuries: The methods recommended for this TNVR programme should avoid the risks of bites and scratches, but accidents can happen. Anyone dealing with feral cats should be vaccinated against tetanus. Bites and scratch wounds should be washed immediately, and if signs of inflammation develop you must see a doctor. If you are bitten or scratched and are concerned always seek medical advice, as these injuries can often become quickly infected.
5. Planning TNVR
Planning before you start is vital for successful TNVR; there will always be unexpected surprises but you should be prepared for most eventualities and can prevent problems with good planning.
Step 1: Intelligence
You will most likely be trapping in areas where the SWA Project Officer has given you information about previous feral cat sightings. This can be from previous surveillance, or from public tip-offs. You may also be proactively finding feral cats in suitable habitat areas, using trail-cameras and targeting them for TNVR. You may need to consult with local people about the presence of feral cats prior to trapping starting too – please do so sensitively. You will be given information resources to distribute to local residents before trapping starts.
Step 2: Negotiation of permissions
Ensure that you have the permission of the landowner for cat trapping on their land. Ask your Project Officer for a list of relevant contacts that have been established. You may need to liaise with local staff too, such as gamekeepers, wardens, or local forestry staff. Vehicle access permission may come with specific conditions you must comply with. Be clear on the boundaries (march) of the land you have permission for: either speak to the landowner to obtain maps of the boundaries or tell landowners where you plan to place cameras and tell them the final chosen locations.
Step 3: Visit the site
Visit the site to check it out beforehand. Take note of any signs of cat activity and decide your approach to trapping. Make written notes of your plans and trap locations; you will need to submit these to your Project Officer at the end of your trapping season.
Step 4: Communication
Prior to live trapping you must let the locals know what you will be doing in advance. You must cover every house within a reasonable distance of any live trapping site, at least within one km straight-line distance. You will be given a standard information pack to distribute to local households explaining TNVR and a cover letter that you can add specific dates to. This gives them specific advice on how to keep their pet cat safe during TNVR and suggests they supply you with a description or photo of their pet if it is not possible to keep it indoors. You will be expected to keep a note of these to ensure pet cat safety.
Step 5: Backup
You must have a backup plan in place during live trapping for when you cannot reach your traps within the usual 12-hourly check interval (see below) due to illness, breakdown, emergencies etc. You must have written records and a map to enable your backup to find the traps. Traps must NEVER be left unchecked – the welfare of the cats is always paramount. In a real emergency contact the SWA Project Officer.
Step 6: Equipment
You will be supplied with the equipment you need to undertake TNVR using our method. No other type of trap or cage may be used without first checking with the SWA project officer. You will be supplied with traps etc by SWA, but it is your responsibility to keep them in working order. If they are faulty, contact the SWA Project Officer immediately.
Step 7: Vet relations
You will be working with vets with whom the SWA project has a prior agreement and a standard TNVR approach. However, close liaison with the vets in advance is needed to ensure their availability on your trapping dates. It is not acceptable to keep a cat caged for more than 12hrs if the vet is not available or to have to release a cat if no one is available to neuter it as it may not ever be re-caught.
Each vet practice will also have some preferences and the SWA Project Officer will advise you what their specific requests are. These may include: days of the week they are willing to accept cats; times of day cats can be delivered; what type of trap or cage they would prefer the cat to be delivered in; what time of day cats can be collected etc. You must make every effort to comply with these and inform your PO of any problems or issues arising.
Step 8: Transport and handling
You must have suitable facilities to transport feral cats to the vets, namely a vehicle with a suitable safe area to hold cats in traps (see transport section below). Also you will need a suitable holding facility to keep cats overnight before or after vet treatment if necessary until release back on site – see Aftercare section below.
Step 9: Weather
Weather forecasts must be checked prior to live trapping to avoid extreme weathers. Some extreme weather conditions will make trapping impossible (see part 7) and you must ensure it is safe for you to reach and check your traps around once every 12 hours when they are operational.
Step 10: Biosecurity
Biosecurity is important and you must comply with standard NatureScot biosecurity protocols. Some sites you may trap in may have specific issues and rules about higher biosecurity risks; you must comply with all landowners’ requests.
6. TNVR Equipment
You will be supplied with:
- Cat Traps
- Trap Covers
- Trap Labels (1 SWA ID, 1 blank label for your name and phone number for each trap)
- Transfer crush carry cage x 2 per trapper, with cover
- Trap Combs x 2 per trapper
- Scent lures – cat urine for traps
- SWA TNVR information leaflets to distribute to local residents
- Up to 50 trail-cameras for pre-trap surveying. Each will come with 2 SD cards and a full set of batteries to last approx. 3-6 months
- Chains and padlocks for traps
- Microchip scanner (1 per trapper)
Equipment you will need to supply yourself:
- Bait (game birds, chicken or wet cat food depending on target cat)
- A first aid kit
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including:
- At least one pair of thick gloves suitable for carrying cats in traps
- Disposable plastic gloves
- Hand wipes / antibacterial gel
- Newspapers or tarpaulins and absorbent towels or puppy trainings pads to put under traps in your vehicle and holding area
- Towels or sheets to cover traps during transport to calm cats
- Ropes / cable ties / bungee cords to keep traps or carry cages secure and locked during transport
- Biosecurity kit
Cat traps
All traps used must be designed specifically for cats – other types of traps (such as squirrel/mink/fox/homemade traps) won’t have the same safety features. All traps must be well-maintained and reasonably clean. For almost all TNVR situations for this project, automatic traps will be used such as Eeziset or Easicatch or similar. They must have: treadle mechanism, rear sliding door, and rounded wire mesh.
Combs
Combs or forks may only be used to block off one part of the cage or trap to aid transfer of a cat or provide food safely etc. They must be used with extreme care and are best used from the side not from above and in pairs. Great care must be taken to avoid injury if the cat lunges whilst the comb in inserted. Don’t be tempted to raise the sliding door without a comb in place for any reason once a feral cat is inside as the cat may escape.
Crush cages
Some vets have requested cats are delivered in crush cages, which can also be easier for you to carry than a full trap. You will be supplied with these and instructed in the safe transferring method- see below.
7. Trapping
A general approach for targeted TNVR of cats could involve the following steps:
- Setting a baited trail-camera initially at locations identified from previous surveys or public sightings as sites of feral cats and obvious hybrids. To help precise placement, look for cat field signs, suitable habitat and structures such as habitat edges and linear features. Leave for approximately two weeks before checking.
- If a cat that should be neutered is detected, set out a baited cage-trap and either immediately set to trap or place on pre-bait (see below). Pre-baited traps can then be set to trap when the target cat is seen to enter the trap or when logistics allow maximum efficiency in targeting cats that need neutering. Pre-baited traps should have the bait refreshed weekly.
- If no target cat is detected after approximately two weeks, the camera is moved to a new location nearby and re-baited. This move is repeated until a target cat is detected or all available locations in the area have been exhausted. We suggest, depending on the availability of suitable habitat, that no more than three locations be assessed per kilometre square before moving the camera to a different kilometre square.
Acclimatisation and pre-baiting:
Pre-baiting and acclimatisation of traps is generally accepted to increase your chances of trapping success, but it is not essential. However, it can be easily be combined with the essential pre-trapping trail-camera monitoring period at each site. In most circumstances, each trapping site will need at least one week’s camera surveillance before live trapping starts, to ensure up to date information about target cats is collected. This then allows correct decisions to be made in the presence of wildcats. All traps must be completely disarmed during this phase by complete removal of the sliding rear door and the trap door locked closed with a padlock ideally (to prevent any accidental trapping or misuse). This must also be done any time the trap is left in situ but not ‘live’.
Placing traps
Traps may be placed in any suitable habitat where there are indications of cat interest, in accordance with the strategy agreed with the SWA project officer. However, you must bear in mind:
- Keep well clear of any farm or forestry operations by agreeing these sites first with the farmer/ site owner/ occupier.
- Place traps where they are safe from interference, and from hazards such as flooding, dogs and extreme weather. It is not advisable to place them near busy public paths.
- Do not place traps in places where they can fall (e.g. on a roof, high shelf, on top of a steep bank) or slippery surfaces, as a frantic cat throwing itself around inside can dislodge a trap.
- The trap must also be somewhere safe for you to reach to check it approximately every 12 hours.
- The trap should be stable and level; use pegs or stones on top to secure.
- If the trap has to be on a slight slope, make sure the door (trap door end) is the lower.
Traps may sometimes be stolen, damaged or sabotaged. Prevent this with good communications with locals beforehand and if in a high-risk area, secure the cat trap with a padlock to something immovable.
Trap flooring
Traps can be used with nothing extra added to the floor whether they are solid floored or mesh floor. Dirt, leaf litter or moss can be used at your discretion as long as they don’t jam the treadle/ trap mechanism.
Covering traps
All traps should be covered on the top and sides to protect the cat inside and to help create an enticing tunnel effect. Trap covers should be waterproof and thick enough to provide shade in hot weather etc. You will be provided with a plastic waterproof cover for each trap, which must be used unless the trap is indoors (barns etc). You can customise this, and add extra camouflage natural material etc at your discretion.
Bait
Amount of bait: a small amount of bait (approximately 1cm cube, or 1 tablespoon full) is needed. This is because ideally cats should not be fed for a few hours before any surgery but a small amount of food is OK if the vet knows approximately how long ago it last ate.
Type of bait: You have flexibility to try any type of bait you feel appropriate for that target cat (except live bait of course). Suggestions include: fish, chicken, pheasant, rabbit, commercial cat food. Traps need to be fully wiped out and/or washed regularly to stop the bait going rancid. N.B. Do not use food dishes in the trap as they may foul up the mechanism and can injure a frightened cat once caught. Place bait directly on the floor of the trap or hang at the back.
Scent bait: These can be used at your discretion, and some suggestions include: fish oil, catnip, valerian tincture, Hawbacker’s cat lure, and cat urine (as long as from a disease-free clean source via a vet).
Sound lures: we do not advise the use of these as they can cause distress to cats.
Live cat lures: we do not support or condone the use of any live cats as attractants at traps.
Labelling traps
Each trap will be permanently identified with the SWA project logo both on the trap and cover and with a unique trap number that cannot be removed. You will also be expected to add a label with your name and contact telephone number as the current operator; blanks will be supplied.
Trap check frequency
The current standard legal minimum interval for any live trap to be checked is 24 hours; however it is considered best practise to do so every 12 hours. This is standard SWA practise and is designed to balance the welfare of trapped cats and practicalities.
In some remote locations it will not be possible to get to traps every 12 hours – if so, you must discuss your plan with your PO and make sure if you only check every 24 hours, extra precautions are taken. The interval between trap checks should NEVER EXCEED 24 HOURS. If a trap location is also visited by a wildcat, the contractor must confer with staff before proceeding: A licence is required if there is a risk of capturing a wildcat and in these situations trap checks must be within every eight hours.
Weather
Avoid trapping in extreme weather conditions. It is possible for a cat to die from hypothermia or even heat stroke when confined in a trap outside. It may also make reaching your traps impossible. In winter/cold conditions you can use 1” or 2” thick clean polystyrene under and around the trap or place the trap on a bed of straw or wood, for extra insulation from cold. Also add extra layers of waterproof covering to the trap, and in cold conditions, only place traps in sheltered locations such as dense woodlands or sheds, or increase the frequency of your trap visits. If you are targeting feral cats that are active during daytime, consider only trapping during the warmer daylight hours.
Involving others
You are responsible for the traps at all times and must ensure anyone else who is designated to check traps for you is fully trained and reliable; you must have an efficient and accountable system such as getting an assistant to call or text you the result of each check so you know it’s been done.
How Long to Trap For?
This depends entirely on the logistics of your site and the cats you are targeting, and your available time. Never try to trap for longer than you can be sure to devote to regular trap checks. There is no harm in stopping and starting ‘live trapping’ or working on a rotational pattern.
Accessing success rate
We recommend using a camera trap set up opposite all traps to collect information about all wildlife visiting the site and the behaviour of cats that may show interest in a trap but not enter. This allows a change of technique if necessary and helps decisions on whether a trap site is worth persisting with.
Assessing caught cats
- Approach all cats in traps quietly and calmly. Cover the trap as soon as possible to minimise panic and injury. Lift a corner of the cover and assess the cat- you may need a torch but don’t shine this directly into a cat’s eyes.
- First check for any sign of ear tipping, which means the cat may have already been neutered and if so, release it straight away if the cat is apparently well.
- Secondly check for any signs of it being a local pet cat such as a collar. Or try to match it with a photo ID you have been given. Release it if it is a pet cat. Microchip scan if possible.
- Assess the cat for wildcat or hybrid characteristics. See flowchart decision making tool in part 14. Follow the relevant procedures for each – remember you will need to release the cat within four hours if it’s a wildcat. Ask for SWA staff advice if unsure, but always err on the side of caution.
- Once you’ve done your quick assessment, cover the trap completely and do not attempt to handle the cat. Transfer cat to crush cage if necessary and safe to do so.
- If the vet is open and ready to receive the cat, transfer it straight away. If not (e.g. it’s at night or too early in the morning) either take the cat home (treat as in Aftercare below) or to a ‘holding’ facility as previously arranged. Do not leave a cat in a trap on site as it may be vulnerable and do not keep a cat for more than 12 hours before transfer to a vet.
8. Transferring and transporting feral cats
Using our project’s TNVR method there is little or no handling of feral cats – it is undesirable for the cat and you, and should be avoided wherever possible to reduce risk and stress. The whole technique is designed to be ‘hands off’ so you should never need to handle the cats directly. Always wear gloves when handling traps with cats inside, even if covered, as their claws can pierce covers.
All feral cats should be transferred to the vet as soon as possible to minimise time spent in the traps. Occasionally you may have to keep a cat overnight until the vet opens. Leave the cat in the trap or cage and treat it as discussed below in the Aftercare section, providing water but only VERY small amounts of food.
You can transport the feral cat you have caught direct to the vet in the trap if it’s not too soiled or you may want to transfer the cat to a clean trap so you can leave the other working in situ. This must be done with extreme care as this is the stage in the process where escape of a cat is most likely.
You may also need to transfer the cat from the trap to a crush cage if the vet has requested it. These are designed to move the cat from the trap to the cage without touching it at all.
How to transfer a cat
- The best technique is to ‘lock’ the rear of the trap (the end with the sliding door) to the entrance of the cage. Always place the back of the cage against a solid object (wall, tree, wheel of car etc.) on level ground, and cover it with a dark sheet or blanket. Place the trap against it, with the clear plastic end towards the cage, and put your or someone else’s foot behind the trap, so nothing can move. Removable cable-ties can also be used to lock traps together.
- You take control of the rear plastic trap door - then slide the cage door upwards and out but keep handy.
- Get any other people present to move away from the cage and to the far end of the trap. Gradually slide the cover off the trap (keep your leg protected from the cat’s claws). The cat usually sees the other dark end of the cage as a safe option and darts through to it.
- Slide the cage door down and then slide the clear plastic trap door down and secure them both – double-check this before separating the trap and cage by drawing them back and away.
- Do not prod, kick or wobble the trap, or shout at the cat to make it transfer. Blowing air gently on the cat can work. Never use a comb to prod or push a cat in a trap or cage.
- Cats in this degree of confinement may choose to lash out rather than retreat, so be careful.
It is very important to keep the cage covered at all times, as this provides an attractive safe haven at one end and the best chance for the cat to stay calm. Some cats will take longer to ‘see’ the dark end of the cage and may fear turning their back on you - some even turn and back into the cage. Avoid changing your strategy, just hold the door ready, keep your body to the trap end and the cat will manoeuvre away from you eventually to the cage end.
Transport
- Keep the trap covered completely with breathable fabric such as an old towel, to provide a dark calm area for the cat to help to reduce stress.
- Make sure your trap or cage doors are securely closed- ideally cable tie them shut so they can’t work loose in transit. Cable ties or strong clips can be useful for this.
- Trapped cats must not be transported in the enclosed boot of a car or the open back of a truck. Transport them in a well-ventilated or air-conditioned area such as the rear seat or lower the rear seats to make the boot area better ventilated, roomy and the cages or traps visible to the driver.
- Be careful when sliding traps/cages with mesh floors into vehicles; the cat’s paws and claws can snag on carpets and seats injuring them.
- Leave the radio off and avoid all loud noises in and around the vehicle if possible and avoid strong smells.
- To further reduce stress for the trapped cat and reduce the chance of disease transfer, do not transport a trapped cat with other pets.
- Ensure the cat trap cannot slide around by anchoring the trap with a seat belt or using bungee straps in a cargo area.
- If transporting in a car, ensure the seat and carpet is covered to protect from urine, faeces and vomit. Line the area of the vehicle you will use with a waterproof layer and then an absorbent material such as towels, puppy pads etc to enable it to be completely cleaned for your own and the cat’s health.
- If you are transporting more than one cage at a time in the vehicle, make sure there is a barrier of material between them to minimise stress between cats.
9. Complex situations
Pet Cats
If you accidentally catch someone’s pet cat, it should be obvious after a quick assessment. If it is wearing a collar or matches one you have been given a photo of by local householders, let it go immediately.
If you suspect by its behaviour it is a pet cat (it is calm in the trap, responds to human voice and approaches you), check your information, and if possible, ask around; someone may recognise it. It is illegal to neuter an owned cat without the owner’s consent so it must be released even if you cannot locate the owner. If so, and it is safe to handle, you can put a paper collar on it before releasing it, so its owners know it has been caught and what is going on in the area with TNVR.
If a vet finds a microchip in a cat brought in for TNVR, neutering must not take place, and its owner should be contacted. If this is not immediately possible, the cat may be released back at point of capture. However, if you suspect the cat is stray, you can leave it with the vet or be transferred to a welfare shelter whilst further enquires are made.
Accidental trapping of other animals
There is a chance that your feral cat traps may trap other species. All wildlife must be released immediately unharmed unless the animal is injured, in which case you will need to seek veterinary advice before releasing it. The only exceptions are grey squirrels and mink, which must be euthanised as non-native invasive species that may not legally be released - seek your Project Officer’s advice immediately.
Pregnant cats
Pregnant females may be trapped and safely spayed by the vet as normal at any stage of gestation. Follow the vet’s instructions for any extra aftercare.
Cats with kittens/nursing mothers
The chance of trapping cats with kittens or nursing mothers is less likely in winter. However, if during the pre-trapping camera surveillance or on-going camera trapping on site you find evidence of a feral cat with young kittens (under 8 weeks of age) you must not trap using the standard technique. There is a danger to the kittens if they are left behind whilst the mother is removed from site to the vets for 24 hours or more.
If a female cat is found to be lactating when caught, a search nearby for her kittens must be undertaken. If young kittens are found they should be collected and placed in a separate cage and taken along with the mother to the vet, being kept adjacent to each other. The vet will decide if the kittens are old enough to be neutered, or separated/ weaned for rehoming etc.
If you catch a female cat and the kittens can’t be located, she should still be neutered and released as quickly as possible; older kittens will survive adequately until the mother is returned.
Once kittens are eight weeks old and following their mother around it can be possible to catch the whole family together using a large manual family trap – ask your PO for one of these.
Older kittens (over 12 weeks) out and about on their own can be caught for neutering as adults. Often using multiple traps in the same location, ideally one for each kitten, is effective as they will be big enough to trigger a trap.
If resources and experienced personnel are available, feral kittens less than eight weeks of age can be socialised and rehomed. SWA does not have such facilities but local cat welfare charities may. Socialising kittens between the ages of 8-12 weeks is more challenging, and may be less successful in the long term, so neutering and return should be undertaken for this age group if the local cat welfare charity does not have the space to take them. Kittens over 12 weeks should be neutered and released as adults back at source.
Ill or injured cats
Any cat that is injured or ill must be taken directly to a vet. Do not try to administer first aid or treatment yourself as this can be dangerous for you and the cat. A vet will decide if the injury or illness can be treated under the normal TNVR regime or requires euthanasia on welfare grounds.
Trap interference or sabotage
Prevent by local public engagement, clear labelling etc. If you think this may be a particular issue at a site, take the following additional precautions: always padlock open doors when not in use; take a photograph of each trap when it’s set in a new location with its ID number visible so you have a clear record; report any damage, theft or misuse to the police and get an incident number; ask your PO for help if necessary.
10. At the vet
Once the cat is delivered to the vet, you need to sign the Cat Procedures Form (duplicate pad) to authorise the treatment of the cat on behalf of the SWA project, for which the project pays the vet directly. The vet will then let you know a time to collect the cat; you will not have to pay the bill.
The vet will undertake a set of agreed procedures on the cat that will include: health check, SNAP test for contagious diseases, neutering, vaccination, ear tipping, and parasite treatment if necessary. They will also treat any minor injuries. Euthanasia on welfare grounds is entirely at the vet’s direction.
The cat will be returned to the cage once it begins to recover from anaesthetic and will be released to your care once it is recovering well. On discharge the vet will give you some standard instructions on what to look out for postoperatively.
11. Aftercare
When you collect the cat from the vet, they will give you specific instructions about how long that individual cat will need to be kept in before it can be released and anything special to be aware of.
Some vets prefer to keep cats in hospital overnight after surgery and will discharge them to you next morning ready to be released back at the trapping site straight away. In other cases, the vet may release them to your care to be supervised at home for 12-36 hours before release; be sure to discuss which is appropriate for the individual cat. Generally, it is usual to keep females in their cages or traps and release them the next day while males may be taken back to their site and released later the same day.
After surgery:
- The cat should be returned directly to a clean cage or trap with some bedding and put in a quiet place until it is fully conscious.
- Transport the cats safely back to your secure, indoor location where they will be in a safe environment, dry and away from danger such as toxic fumes, other animals or people or loud noises. Examples include bathrooms, basements, garages, spare rooms etc. Make sure it is quiet and inaccessible to other people and animals. Ensure that all entries in and out (doors, windows, ceiling tiles etc) are closed at all times in the unlikely event that a cat should escape from its trap.
- If you would like to give the cat more space to recover, join two cages together SECURELY.
- When the cats are recovering from anaesthesia, they are unable to regulate their body temperature well so keep their recovery area sensibly warm but not hot.
- Place newspaper underneath the cage to catch the inevitable stool, urine and food residue.
- Alternatively, you can transfer cats to a spare clean trap if the newspaper/ bedding is really soiled during recovery-use the same method described above.
- Check at intervals to make sure that the cat is in a comfortable position and there is no obvious bleeding; keep an eye out for signs of infection (swelling, redness, weeping), illness, and lack of appetite. If a cat is vomiting, bleeding, having difficulty breathing, or not waking up, get veterinary assistance immediately. It is normal for cats to sleep a lot after anaesthetic.
- Keep the cage covered at all times to minimise stress. Never open the trap doors or allow the cats out of the trap. Do not stick your fingers through the bars or attempt to handle cats.
- Food and water can then be safely provided once the cat is fully conscious. This is usually up to eight hours post-operation. Put this in the cage taking care not to allow the cat to escape: use a comb to keep the cat at one end then lift the back door of the trap very slowly and allow only a small gap (a half to one inch at most) at the bottom. Slide a shallow plastic lid with a little bit of food on it through the gap without putting your hand inside the trap.
- In rare circumstances (such as surgical complications), when a cat needs longer care (longer than 48 hours), you will need to transfer it to a larger holding pen or hospitalisation basket (or you can join two cages together). If you cannot do this, contact your PO who may have a local volunteer who can host this type of cat.
- Nursing mothers can be returned to their kittens as soon as they are fully conscious. Give her extra space. Kittens should be fed as soon as they are conscious.
- Make sure all cats are fully conscious, clear-eyed and alert before release. Ideally they will also have eaten something too.
- Make sure any ID information goes with the cat in its cage so it can be released at the correct site; especially important if you have multiple cats in TNVR at once.
12. Release
Always release the cat in the same place you trapped it, as this is its territory. Cats relocated in a strange environment tend to leave the new site and may become distressed, injured or even starve. It is SWA policy not to relocate any feral cats on welfare grounds.
Cats should be released as soon as possible, once they are awake, alert and eating. Open the front door of the trap or cage and pull back the cover. Or, remove the whole covering and both doors, and walk away. Do not be concerned if the cat hesitates; allow it time to re-orientate itself. Ensure the trap door is facing away from you when it is opened and never place your hand into the trap in an attempt to flush or drag the cat out!
13. Cleaning traps and biosecurity
Cats are fastidious and may not use a heavily soiled trap. Also, a dirty trap could cause infection to spread between cats, so cleaning minimises the risk of disease spread. We do not recommend the use of heavy-duty chemical cleaners as these smell strongly and can put cats off.
Be sure to clean out your traps after use; i.e. each run of a few days trapping in the same location or after each cat has been caught. A good hose down or scrub with warm water and non-perfumed washing up liquid, removing all caked on mud and dirt, is essential, and then drying in sunshine, which will help minimise contamination. Remember some cat diseases can survive for 10 days on dirty surfaces.
You should take extra care to clean traps between different sites, when a cat has had any blood in the trap, or if an ill cat has been in a trap (such as one the vet has had to euthanise). Clean extra thoroughly with water as normal, then spray with Virkon disinfectant (supplied) on all surfaces. Allow the solution to work for 10 minutes and then rinse with clean water and dry in the sun for a few days to lose the smell. Your PO will supply you with Virkon and the instructions for its safe use.
Annex 2: Quarterly breakdowns for cat procedures
Cat type | Sch-eme | Pheno-type | Priority area | 2016-Q3 | 2016-Q4 | 2017-Q1 | 2017-Q2 | 2017-Q3 | 2017-Q4 | 2018-Q1 | 2018-Q2 | 2018-Q4 | 2019-Q1 | 2019-Q2 | 2019-Q3 | 2019-Q4 | 2020-Q1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
MV |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SB |
0 |
22 |
24 |
16 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SP |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SS |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
xPA |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
Sub-total |
1 |
25 |
33 |
17 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
SP |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
SS |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
xPA |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
Sub-total |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, colony living |
- |
Total colony |
- |
3 |
25 |
34 |
17 |
12 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
TNVR |
1 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
AG |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SA |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SB |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SP |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Domestic |
SS |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
Wild-cat-Trap |
Domestic |
WildcatTrap |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
Wild-cat-Trap |
Domestic |
SB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
- |
Domestic |
Sub-total |
1 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
TNVR |
1 |
4 |
10 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
29 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
AG |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
SB |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
SP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
SS |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
TNVR |
Hybrid |
xPA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
Wildcat-Trap |
Hybrid |
WildcatTrap |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
Wildcat-Trap |
Hybrid |
SB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
Wildcat-Trap |
Hybrid |
SS |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
- |
Hybrid |
Sub-total |
1 |
4 |
12 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
29 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
Non-wildcat, lone living |
- |
Total lone |
- |
2 |
7 |
16 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
43 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
- |
Total non-wildcat |
- |
- |
5 |
32 |
50 |
17 |
21 |
6 |
47 |
3 |
12 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
Wildcat |
TNVR |
Wildcat |
AG |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
TNVR |
Wildcat |
SB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
TNVR |
Wildcat |
SP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
TNVR |
Wildcat |
Total |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
WildcatTrap |
Wildcat |
AG |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Wildcat |
WildcatTrap |
Wildcat |
MV |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
WildcatTrap |
Wildcat |
SB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
Wildcat |
WildcatTrap |
Wildcat |
SS |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Wildcat |
WildcatTrap |
Wildcat |
Total |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
Wildcat |
Total wildcat |
- |
- |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
Grand total |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
32 |
52 |
17 |
21 |
6 |
52 |
3 |
14 |
17 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
13 |
For further information on this report please contact:
Roo Campbell, NatureScot, Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness, IV3 8NW.
Telephone: 01463 725130
Email: [email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-78391-980-2
This publication is part of a series of specialist reports on the work of the Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) project that ran from 2015-2020. The work was led and steered by a partnership of organisations: Cairngorms National Park Authority, Forestry and Land Scotland, National Museums Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates, NatureScot, Scottish Wildlife Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, The Scottish Gamekeepers Association, The Scottish Government, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU).
The many other partners and funders are listed in the SWA Summary report.
For more information, including access to the other reports, contact Martin Gaywood at NatureScot.
This report, or any part of it, should not be reproduced without the permission of NatureScot or the relevant authors. This permission will not be withheld unreasonably. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report should not be taken as the views and policies of NatureScot. © NatureScot 2023.