making the problem worse'', a conservation group has claimed.

The Bermuda Audubon Society used its latest quarterly newsletter to pounce on the tactics of the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau (BFAB).

Titled "The Feral Cat Problem'', the newsletter article praises BFAB as "the only group which is actually trying to do something about this (cat population) problem''.

But the Society goes on to question the "illogical approach'' used by "a few fanatical cat lovers''.

"Many local conservationists are convinced that the feral cat problem has actually gotten worse, not better, because a few fanatical cat-lovers have persuaded both the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the private and Government veterinary services to stop putting down unwanted cats,'' said the newsletter.

And it goes on to ask: "Why on earth go to all the trouble of capturing, neutering, re-releasing and feeding feral cats, if the stated goal is to reduce or eliminate them?'' According to the Society, failing to capture and neuter just five percent of the feral cat population would be enough to ensure their continued survival.

"Given the cat's reproductive potential in the presence of adequate food, we must either revert to humane euthanasia on the unfortunate scale that the SPCA and veterinary services used to do it in the past, or we will have to pass comprehensive licensing legislation and set up a cat catching authority for cats,'' claimed the article.

The Bermuda Audubon Society also charged that a recent Government grant of $25,000 to support BFAB's methods, "raises the stakes''.

"Considering that our tax money is now being used to help BFAB, it is all the more urgent that this question is addressed scientifically and dispassionately,'' argued the article.

BFAB president Rebecca Emory declined to comment.

ANIMALS ALS