I just read this and im sure some may already know about the cats and the witch-warden of avenal :

Feeding stations built by the inmates have been thrown away, the cat graveyard were cats from the prison were carefully laid to rest has been destroyed, and the warden has mandated that no one is to leave food or water for the cats. With this cruel, inhumane policy in place, cats are now being trapped and removed by the prison. Cats are often left in traps on the prison grounds for two days or more with no food or water. They are exposed to the elements and other animals that may harm them!

Since Fall 2001, Avenal State Prison in Kings County, California, has had an effective, well-managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. Volunteers, prison workers, and inmates, with help from Alley Cat Allies and other animal welfare groups, implemented the TNR program in response to a feeding ban that was issued in fall 2000. Read about our efforts in our 2001 Alley Cat Action here.

Previous Wardens Joseph Huskey and Scott Rawers supported the TNR program for five years, but there has now been a change of leadership and the new warden, Kathy Mendoza-Powers, is seeking to remove and ultimately kill all the cats on the prison grounds.

What is ACA doing to help? Alley Cat Allies has been consulting with activists and prison staff who have coordinated the prison's TNR program for six years in order to help them change the Warden's stance on this issue. Even with our calls, letters and this action alert the Warden will still not reinstate TNR and continues to mandate the removal of the cats on the grounds .

Please call, write or e-mail the Secretary of the California Department of Corrections, Governor Schwarzenegger and Acting Warden Mendoza-Powers now! Demand an immediate moratorium on removing the cats and a reinstatement of their feeding and TNR, the only humane, effective management program for feral cats.

here is the full link
http://action.alleycat.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?auid=1522633&kntaw9481=085080D69F0046D0B524FBE394CA5CA7&c=mmL3KgN3LzH&b=1428359&action=5519&template=x.ascx


anything they can take away to take the humanity away. another warden who cant think outside the box. way to go.

Uhh...yeah. While I can understand your point of view, the cats also represent a helth hazard to the whole area. When people stop dumping their unwamted litters of kittens there (because they know there are feeding stations, or, used to be 30 of them) then the population will decrease on its own.

well, i dont know if i put up the right link, but it seemed like at one point before this warden came in, they were being caught by cage, sent to the vet, spayed or neutered, checked out and sent back to the prison. so they were not really a health hazard until they were starved to death by the new warden.

animals decrease stress and increase responsibility and self-worth and the inmates were involved with taking care to a point. maybe it did get carried away if indeed people were actually dropping off strays.

i dont think its :rolleyes: crazy to think there are alternative ways to help control and better inmates rather than mace and shields and cell extractions. it has been done in other prisons with foster pets and it works.

http://www.4pawsforability.org/roverrehab.htm

http://www.in.gov/indcorrection/news/0405prisontails.htm

these are just two i searched out real quick. i know its not for every prisoner or everyplace, but things like this can work while providing punishment and rehab at the same time. even for lifers.