2013년 서울시 길고양이 개체수 추정에 관한 연구

The increase of feral cat population due to man-made activities, such as cat-mom activities, has become a social problem, although cats have lived with humans for a long time worldwide. Nevertheless, in Seoul City, the effectiveness of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) management plan has not been evaluated yet. In this study, we calculated the population size of feral cats in Seoul City, which is useful information for feral cat management. Seoul City was divided into 196 areas based on 2012 TNR density data. In each group, 3 areas were selected for a total of 9 areas. Out of those, 6 areas (3 apartment and 3 non-apartment areas) that could be clearly separated by mountains, rivers or roads based on Seoul City Geographical Information System (GIS) were finally selected and they were representative of the two different residential styles (44.21% apartment area and 55.79% non-apartment area). Population size of feral cats was estimated from 3 on-site surveys over 3 days. The results of the survey showed that the population of feral cats in Seoul City ranged between 209,772 and 272,816. Results of this study will be used to develop a policy to control and manage the population of feral cats.