Building Political Power for NYC Community Cats Featuring Allie Taylor (Allie Feldman Taylor), Founder & President, Voters for Animal Rights (VFAR)

"Imagine if you told New Yorkers, 'Well, you want someone to take your trash away from your block? Oh, you're gonna have to find a volunteer to do that.' That's exactly what's happening here. But with animal care."

This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund.

Stacy LeBaron talks with Allie Taylor, founder and president of Voters for Animal Rights (VFAR), an organization she started in 2016 to bring political voice for animals throughout New York State. Allie is a volunteer TNR rescuer in Brooklyn who has successfully passed numerous landmark laws including banning foie gras, banning wild animals in circuses, prohibiting the sale of guinea pigs in pet stores, and prohibiting backyard breeders. When she moved to Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn in 2016, she was struck by the overwhelming number of community cats and decided to get TNR certified and start trapping her block—like many cat advocates, quickly learning that you don't have to go much further than your own block to find plenty of cats that need help.

In this episode, Allie discusses the broken system for community cat care in New York City, where everything falls on volunteers with no government support despite NYC having one of the worst per capita spending rates on animal care in the country ($2.89 per capita compared to $10 in Los Angeles, $13.70 in Miami-Dade, and $15 in Dallas). She shares the historic September 2024 City Council hearing where hundreds of cat rescuers testified, leading to the first-ever city funding for animals—$500,000 (later increased from the originally proposed $1.5 million) for spay/neuter services that will provide 3,500 additional surgeries. Allie also discusses VFAR's Community Cat Fund that has distributed $30,000 in grants to rescuers and organizations, including the largest grant to Bronx Community Cats to establish a trap bank in the Bronx. She explains why New York City desperately needs a fully staffed and funded Department of Animal Welfare, professional paid TNR workers, and free/low-cost veterinary care for all income levels to address the city's massive cat overpopulation crisis.

Listeners will learn about the power of political organizing and advocacy to create systemic change for community cats, how to work effectively with city councils and state legislatures on budget processes, the importance of getting TNR advocates involved in local politics, and why addressing income inequality and providing resources to underserved communities is essential to solving cat overpopulation. Allie's work demonstrates that grassroots organizing, strategic lobbying, and holding elected officials accountable can lead to landmark victories that create lasting infrastructure for animal welfare.

Press play now for:

• Why NYC's per capita spending on animal care ($2.89) is shockingly low compared to other major cities
• How hundreds of cat rescuers organized to testify at a historic September 2024 City Council hearing
• The first-ever NYC budget allocation for animal welfare: $500,000 for spay/neuter services
• Why TNR in NYC is completely volunteer-based with no city support or scheduling system
• The challenge of accessing ASPCA's free spay/neuter clinic as a newly certified TNR rescuer
• VFAR's Community Cat Fund that distributed $30,000 in direct grants to NYC rescuers
• The $5,000 grant to Bronx Community Cats to establish a trap bank in the Bronx
• Why NYC needs a fully funded Department of Animal Welfare (not just a one-person mayor's office)
• The connection between income inequality and cat overpopulation in NYC's boroughs
• How getting TNR advocates involved in local politics creates lasting systemic change
• The importance of making major investments in public education about keeping cats indoors and spay/neuter
• Why paid professional TNR workers could transform the city's response to cat overpopulation

Resources mentioned:

• Voters for Animal Rights (VFAR) (https://vfar.org/)
• VFAR on Instagram (@votersforanimalrights) (https://www.instagram.com/votersforanimalrights/)
• ASPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic (https://www.aspca.org/)
• Brooklyn Cat Cafe / Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition (https://catcafebk.com/)
• Bronx Community Cats (https://www.facebook.com/bronxcommunitycats/)
• Flatbush Cats (https://www.flatbushcats.org/)
• NYC Mayor's Office of Animal Welfare (https://www.nyc.gov/site/animalwelfare/index.page)
• Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) (https://www.nycacc.org/)

Sponsor Links:

• Maddie's Fund (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/maddies635)

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