Final signature count: 23,809

23,809 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

The Polish Academy of Sciences has classified domestic cats as an “invasive alien species¹.”

The institution wants to encourage cat owners to keep their cats inside where they will not harm birds and other wildlife, but it could also lead to mass culls or animal abuse toward domestic pets and feral cats alike.

Culls or mass killings are still used to control fast-breeding cat populations in the U.S. and abroad². Some employ guns or poisons, making no discrimination between stray or feral cats and family pets, leaving cats dead, traumatized, or maimed³.

Defining cats as pests will encourage violence against the animals, which could be exacerbated by people who share that violence on social media⁴.

No cat deserves to die this way.

In contrast, trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs are a humane and effective way to maintain balance between wild cat populations and the birds and wildlife they prey on and disturb⁵. Stray or feral cats are caught, neutered or spayed, and then released back into the wild — where they can live happily without contributing to the next generation of cats⁶.

TNR programs work well if implemented correctly, so the Polish Academy of Sciences should be able to advocate for them without objection⁷.

No matter the intent of the institution’s decision to classify cats as an “invasive alien species,” announcements like this must be made with diligence and care, especially when other animal lives are on the line.

The Polish Academy of Sciences has stated that it is expressly against animal cruelty, but this is not enough. The institution must also make a clear statement on how to humanely treat and manage domestic cat populations⁸.

Sign the petition and demand that the Polish Academy of Sciences advocate for trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs for the management of cat populations!