Despite protests to the contrary, I recently found out that not only is Paul Zhang still doing work for the Mayor’s Alliance, they are actively calling him for jobs. At first I was told that all ties between him and the MA were severed after the revelations of his cat-killings came to light. Then, when he continued to be spotted in what appeared to be work for the MA, I was told that he was ‘volunteering.’ In this scenario, he was calling up and saying he knew of cats that needed trapping or transport and said he would do it for free. Rather have a cat rescued than possibly not, the MA representatives allowed Zhang to continue bringing in cats.
Now the word is that he is actually being sought after by the MA for work, they are actively calling him and having him do the same kind of TNR work he did in the past. They claim they are not paying him, adding that since he is soon moving out of state, there is no long-term harm in using him for his well-documented skills in trapping.
Estimates on when Zhang is actually moving range from 3-6 months. Some say he will be gone by April, and while I hope this is true, it’s unsettling to think he will be bringing his kill-them-all attitude to a new, unsuspecting community. I don’t know exactly where he is going but if we find out, we will certainly put the word out there.
But what’s more depressing is the sliding scale of morality at the Mayor’s Alliance. This coalition is not only a professed no-kill organization, a large amount of its funding comes from Maddie’s Fund, who supposedly have very strict guidelines about killing (namely, DON’T DO IT). I know money’s tight, and for the time being no-kill almost always means more work for everybody involved. But continuing to hire Zhang is like trusting the henhouse to the wolf. It makes us all look like chumps and the MA like they’re not really interested in changing things.
Obviously, the MA doesn’t want this info getting around, hence the many layers to this tale. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next layer reveals they have been paying Zhang all along but that’s just speculation. I’ll be very happy when he is gone, although I know that doesn’t solve any of the issues that have arisen since Anthony the cat was plucked from his yard and killed. But maybe we are now a little more clear-eyed and can focus on the things we can control easily and effect change at those levels.
For me that means continuing to TNR as much as I can, and trying to get other people to join in as well. On the advocacy front, most of you are probably familiar with the “Quick Kill Bill” that was introduced in the NY State Assembly and the protests against it. I guess it comes as no surprise that the Mayor’s Alliance has been involved with that flawed legislation as well. The good news is the protests are working and I believe that lawmakers are beginning to realize they have a real constituency to appease, and that Micah Kellner’s CAARA bill is the better legislation to pass. Please read these recent interviews about each bill and tell me which one you think will truly help homeless animals in NY:
*EDIT: The Mayor’s Alliance denies the above allegation (their active hiring of PZ. I can’t really corroborate my assertions without revealing sources, and as this entire site is rooted in tips and other unverifiable content, I hope people will take this info as I have: these are simply voices from the animal welfare community. It’s up to you whether or not you choose to believe them.
We’ve been asked to revive this site to continue to document Paul Zhang’s cat-killing, which has unfortunately continued since he left the New York area. The below article from the 
Stop Paul Zhang 