A press conference to introduce Jacksonville’s groundbreaking Feral Freedom cat population-control program will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the downtown Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk Hotel.

Feral Freedom is a unique collaboration between the City of Jacksonville, First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP) and Best Friends Animal Society, one of the nation’s foremost animal rescue organizations. The program puts Jacksonville at the forefront of progressive management of cat overpopulation nationwide, utilizing the Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) system as an alternative to mass euthanasia of feral cats throughout Duval County.

Speakers at the event will include Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, director of the City of Jacksonville’s Environmental and Compliance Department, Rick DuCharme of First Coast No More Homeless Pets, Paul Berry, chief executive officer of Best Friends Animal Society and Dr. Julie Levy, DVM, Ph.D., Maddie’s professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society operates the country’s largest sanctuary for homeless pets, located on 3,700 acres in southwestern Utah. On any given day it is home to about 2,000 dogs, cats, and other animals that come from shelters and rescue groups around the country for special care they can only receive at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Best Friends works closely with animal shelters and rescue groups to advance initiatives nationwide that will help bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets. Best Friends is the home of “DogTown,” a National Geographic Channel television series that chronicles the society’s ongoing work with dogs. For more information, visit www.bestfriends.org.

About First Coast No More Homeless Pets

First Coast No More Homeless Pets was founded in 2001 in response to a request by the City of Jacksonville for a city funded spay/neuter program for dogs and cats. Since 2003, First coast has performed more than 24,000 pet sterilizations, resulting in an overall reduction in pet intake of approximately 31 percent, and reductions in puppy and kitten intake of 44 percent and 52 percent, respectively. In 2006, First Coast’s Trap-Neuter-Return program was developed to offer low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for feral and stray cats. For more information, visit www.fcnmhp.org.