110 W. New York Ave., DeLand, FL
386-734-4622
posted Mar 11, 2010 - 9:59:29am
Cat activists won a victory in DeLand March 1, when city leaders rejected a new law that would have required the activists to build fences around their wild-cat colonies.
But the cat-lovers still have no relief from current city law, which makes it illegal for an individual to keep more than four cats. They also have no means to get the city’s help to spay and neuter the cats they care for.
Since November, the City of DeLand has been working to create an ordinance to legitimize the activities of volunteer caregivers who feed and sterilize colonies of wild cats that live on vacant lots and in wooded areas around the city.
An estimated 12 or more such cat colonies are currently being cared for in DeLand.
DeLand Assistant Manager Dale Arrington has had a crash course in learning how other cities deal with the problem of feral cats, and about various kinds of TNR, or “trap, neuter and return” programs operating across Central Florida.
City Manager Michael Pleus said the research, including meeting with cat activists and drafting a new law, has taken up to 20 percent of Arrington’s time in recent months.
The ordinance presented to the City Commission March 1 would have required cat-colony caregivers to register with the city, operate their colonies within certain guidelines, and build fences around those colonies, so the cats could not roam free. An earlier requirement that the wild cats wear collars was deleted.
The new law also would have established a program whereby colony caregivers could get rebates from the city to help with the cost of sterilizing the animals they care for. The city wants to fund the rebates from money it is saving by operating the Second Chance Animal Shelter.
Instead of paying to take stray animals to Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach, the city now takes strays to its own shelter, near the DeLand Municipal Airport. It is estimated that since July 2009, the city has saved $12,000 to $15,000 that would have been paid to Halifax under the old arrangement.
In addition to giving owners the opportunity to be reunited with lost pets, the Second Chance Shelter gives animal groups a chance to find homes for stray cats and dogs that are picked up by the city’s animal-control officer and not claimed by owners.
But the rebates are still on hold, because commissioners weren’t satisfied with the new law that would have created a means for sharing the saved money with animal volunteers.
They approved the ordinance on first reading Feb. 15, but could not muster a motion for final approval at the second reading March 1. The topic was debated for more than two hours, from 7:45 to 9:58 p.m.
Additionally, city staff members said they had been barraged with e-mails between the first and second readings of the proposed law, mostly from people objecting to provisions in the ordinance.
As they had in February, commissioners again heard testimony from cat activists who argued that requiring colonies to be fenced and their cats registered isn’t truly TNR, but, instead, is the creation of cat sanctuaries — a concept they said doesn’t work.
“The City of DeLand should learn from existing trap, neuter and return programs, and apply their standards to our community,” Kim Verbel told commissioners.
Melissa Cranis, who has administered a TNR program under contract with Orange County for 15 years, told DeLand commissioners unfenced colonies of free-roaming cats usually cause no problems for neighbors, who may not even be aware of their existence. The occasional problem cat is trapped and relocated, she said.
Cranis strongly advised against a requirement for fencing.
“Cats will determine what their territory is. We don’t tell them; they tell us,” she told commissioners.
Although they disagreed on the details, commissioners and activists alike agreed the city staff is to be commended for progress made over the past year in dealing with the problem of stray-animal overpopulation, including the opening of Second Chance Animal Shelter.
“The subject even being on the agenda is a step in the right direction,” Nancy Leonard told commissioners.
Leonard said she has been volunteering for 10 years to care for wild cats, and would appreciate the chance to bring her activities out from “under the radar.”
“I would like to suggest that instead of getting involved in the problems of sanctuaries, that we just keep it simple,” Leonard advised.
Commissioners struggled to find a balance between a laissez-faire approach, and respect for the rights of people who don’t particularly like cats. There are occasional complaints, Arrington said, from people who report cats killing birds, fighting loudly or urinating indiscriminately in their neighborhoods.
At the end of two-plus hours, the commission agreed to lay aside, for now, the march toward regulation, and take up the topic again in the future, perhaps with more of an emphasis on TNR than on sanctuaries.
In the immediate future, it will be all-hands-on-deck as city government moves into the budget season, and is faced with the task of budgeting for a high level of services, while less tax money is coming in because of the recession.
“We’re trying to reduce the feral-cat population; that’s our goal,” Mayor Bob Apgar said. “We’re not sure where we’re going, but we think we’re moving toward a TNR program.”
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A wonderful post. Thank you for sharing.
What option from above should I chose? If the parent can not control his kid from roaming wild, the kid should be locked away or destroyed.
Should we use .22's??
I am tired of having my TAX MONEY being used to contain the problem with additional police, prisons, public defenders, etc.
Maybe S/N programs should be expanded from cats to neighborhood kids and in a few generations, problems will decrease to a manageable level.
Ever think of looking it up first so you don't look like a moron?
http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/1078
Gee whiz, what do you know, it's made in the USA!
.22 caliber is completely unethical for one very obvious reason.
You could be killing some kids cat that just got out and that would actually be felony animal abuse AND destruction of private property..(Look it up)
That would be a huge part of why it's illegal to shoot loose domestic animals unless they are threatening human life or livestock.
Basically, the idea is that shooting someones loose animal unnecessarily is similar to theft. Why? To draw a comparison, if you dropped your wallet somewhere, that doesn't make it legal for the next person who comes across it to use your credit cards. If someone does find your credit cards and uses them, they can be charged with theft, fraud and so on. Even though you DID cause the problem by dropping your wallet somewhere. Just because you dropped it doesn't mean that someone can spend all the money in your bank account.
Similarly, just because someone's pet gets out doesn't mean some club-lugging redneck should shoot it.. Doh..
In fact, if discovered, the owner can sue for the value of the animal and often for emotional damage. Shooting a domestic animal without due cause does result in a felony animal cruelty charge in most states including this one.
Do what? I was about to travel the .22 caliber comment route myself but figured it would be more polite to suggest other means. Perhaps Jenna would be happy with this conclusion: purchase American .22 rounds and not Chinese cat traps.
Besides, who brought up the comment about people relying on the government to fix their problems? Not me! I think that idea is Jenna's :)
The individual is against TNR, against the county intervening and yet somehow thinks all the ferals should be "locked away or destroyed."
How exactly does he plan for that to be achieved with neither group intervening? Perhaps the tooth fairy?
It's right up there with people wishing the economy was better while buying made in China products from Walmart.
If you wish to reduce the number of feral cats in your neighborhood, then you should get involved in legal trapping. If you want the economy to improve, then you should support American made products, local businesses and industries..
It's not so much the feral cat issue that gets me annoyed, it's just someone griping about the beer cans in their own front yard instead of just going out and picking them up.
Thank you for posting, Jenna. However, I would challenge your opinion that Mark wants the county to fix the problem of feral cats, stray cats, whatever you call them. For goodness sakes, the guy even stated that trapping "wastes county resources." Don't feral cats come from domestic cats anyway? Perhaps that's what he meant by the whole "not [caring] enough" to keep the cat from roaming wild in the first place.
I do agree though that if someone would've noticed the problem when it started, it wouldn't have gotten worse. So true in that point.
Feral cats are completely different from stray cats. Stray cats should always be processed through animal control to allow them to be reunited with owners who may have lost them or find a new home rather then life on the streets.
TNR programs generally do not re-release cats that could live in a home setting.
There's a good chance Mark that you won't personally go out and buy a cat trap and fix the problem yourself legally. The county and city can't really afford to do it. In other words, if you want the feral cats gone eventually you should support TNR as they are the ones volunteering their time and resources to trap cats.
If it's such a problem in your area, why don't you buy a couple $30 cat traps at Tractor Supply and bring the cats to animal control yourself?
Fact of the matter is, my neighborhood has just about no feral cats. Why? Well, 5 years ago when we noticed a stray around, we set a trap and got the thing spayed. It's still loose somewhere in the area and I've seen it a handful of times. BUT, it sure hasn't reproduced and there don't seem to be any more.
If someone would've taken the time to pick up a cat trap and fixed the problem when it was just starting up, then you wouldn't have a problem now.
Lesson? You can either sit and complain, or you can take legal and appropriate action. If there isn't already a MAINTAINED feral cat colony in your area, perhaps you could volunteer to help fix your own neighborhood?
Please note, I'm not in anyway affiliated with any of the groups mentioned in the article. I'm just a responsible human being that doesn't sit on my duffer and wait for the county to fix every little problem for me.
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