Evidence for Citation Networks in Studies of Free-Roaming Cats: A Case Study Using Literature on Trap–Neuter–Return (TNR)

Abstract

Trap–Neuter–Return and its variants (hereafter TNR) aims to control unowned cat populations. Papers on this topic form a useful case study of how how an area of literature grows, papers become influential, and citation networks form, influencing future study as well as public perceptions of the science. We analysed 145 TNR studies published 2002–2019. Common topics, identified by frequently used language, were population control, interactions with wildlife, disease transmission (including implications for pets, wildlife and humans), free-roaming cats, and feral and domestic cat management. One or more papers on each of these topics was judged influential because of high citations overall, high average citations/year, or frequent mentions in social media. Open Access papers were more influential in social media, raising greater public awareness than studies published in journals that were less accessible. While divergent views exist on a range of topics, the network analysis of the TNR literature indicated potential for forming self-reinforcing groups of authors. While it is encouraging that diverse views are expressed, there is a risk of reduced dialogue interactions between groups, potentially constraining dialogue to refine arguments, share information, or plan research. Journal editors could encourage communication by choosing reviewers from different camps to assess manuscripts and by asking authors to acknowledge alternative views.

A renewed call for conservation leadership 10 years further in the feral cat Trap‐Neuter‐Return debate and new opportunities for constructive dialogue

“…In fact, according to McDonald et al (2015), cat owners tend to persist in denying cat impacts on wildlife and are not influenced by ecological information. As pointed out by Calver and Fleming (2020), communication and exchange of ideas between TNR opponents and proponents is characterized by limited dialogue between groups with opposing views. How then to achieve a more constructive, yet fact‐based dialogue, in which parties with opposing interests can find common ground as a basis by which to jointly reduce aggregate animal suffering (Peterson et al, 2012)?…”

A Century of Peer-reviewed Australian Zoological Research: Prominent Authors, Themes and Usage of Papers from Australian Zoologist

“…Australian facilitating meta-analyses (Doerr et al 2015, Hall et al 2016, literature reviews (Andrews 1990, Stannard et al 2020, journal evaluations (Harrison 2006, Monge-Nájera andHo 2016), and following collaboration networks (Dhital and Rupakheti 2019, Patel et al 2019, Calver and Fleming 2020. Recent studies have extended these applications to include word, text and topic analyses to identify emerging topics and gaps in research (Westgate et al 2015, Greenville et al 2017.…”

Intensive Adoption as a Management Strategy for Unowned, Urban Cats: A Case Study of 25 Years of Trap–Assess–Resolve (TAR) in Auckland, New Zealand

“…Trapping and euthanizing cats (TE) [ 37 , 44 ] sometimes meets with community resistance. There has been a growing number of literature reports describing alternative actions for potentially resolving stray cat issues, especially regarding trapping, neutering, and returning cats to the site of capture, e.g., trap–neuter–return (TNR); with variants such as TNVR (where cats are vaccinated before release) or TTNR (where there is intense targeting of a restricted geographical area), e.g., [ 45 , 46 ]. These methods entail varying degrees of follow-up support, including substantial time and money invested by ‘caretakers’ for these cats.…”