Demand That Avenal State Prison in California Put an End to Inhumane Treatment of Feral Cats!  

Please respond immediately and forward as appropriate.

Earlier this year, PETA began receiving complaints about the treatment of a large feral cat colony at Avenal State Prison in Avenal, California. Horrified cat rescuers informed PETA that the prison’s warden, Kathy Mendoza-Powers, had decided to remove all the cats from prison grounds. Our callers claimed that cats were left in traps for 12 hours or more without access to water and that many cats were injured in the process.

PETA caseworkers spoke with Avenal State Prison officials and were assured on multiple occasions that all traps were equipped with water bottles, that cats were not left in traps for extended periods of time, and that all necessary measures were being taken to ensure that the cats were treated humanely. However, PETA recently received photographs of a young kitten whose paw was torn off after one of her legs apparently became caught under a wire in a trap. This kitten was allegedly left in this trap for 14 hours. Equally shocking are photos of a mother cat and her kittens, who were inexplicably duct-taped inside a trash can and left inside for eight hours; one kitten was reportedly near death when rescuers were called to pick up the animals. Many cats sustained head injuries that allegedly went untreated for the numerous hours during which these cats were reportedly confined to the traps. One cat reportedly died, despite a veterinarian’s attempts to save him, after a prison staff vehicle allegedly ran over the trap in which he was apparently confined.

Please contact Avenal State Prison Warden James Hartley and remind him that no animal should be left in a trap for a period of more than two hours and that the prison is responsible for seeking veterinary care for any cats who are injured during the trapping process. Urge James Hartley to take any steps necessary to ensure that cats are treated humanely—including hiring round-the-clock humane agents to adequately monitor traps.

Impolite correspondence jeopardizes our efforts.

Avenal State Prison
Warden James Hartley
P.O. Box 8
Avenal, CA 93204
559-386-0587

Please also share your concerns with Avenal Animal Control and Jeanne Woodford, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.

Officer Kathy Estrada
Avenal Animal Control
Avenal City Hall
919 Skyline Blvd.
Avenal, CA 93204
559-386-0629 (fax)

Secretary James Tilton
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
1515 S St., Ste. 502
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-7682
916-442-2637 (fax)