A bylaw passed over two years ago is being enforced and, in the process, causing concern among cat groups and the general public.
The matter is expected to make its return to the council table soon after a motion was passed that council get a report and take a further look at it.
Councillor Diane Pouget made a motion requesting administration provide town council “with a complete report regarding the bylaw preventing the public from feeding wild animals and the TNR program regarding feral cats.”
TNR stands for “trap, neuter and release”
Carla Leardi, a member of the Cat Assistance Team (CAT) said residents were given an order by the town to not feed or house cats that come into their yard. She has questions about the bylaw, noting it was passed in 2022 and the group only recently heard of it.
“This is an absolute contradiction to what we as a community have achieved,” she said.
Leardi said the town had a problem with feral cats a number of years ago and thanks to the TNR program, the problem has subsided. Housing and feeding feral cats allow them to remain in one location and to be neutered. That, in turn, has prevented feral cats from roaming for food and to reproduce.
“The TNR program has been a huge success in Amherstburg,” she said. “The whole community has been a part of it and it’s been a huge success.”
If one resident can’t feed feral cats in their area, the cats would find their ways into other yards, she believed. Leardi added she looks after several cats herself, but can’t do that anymore due to cost concerns.
Taxpayers fund a voucher program where feral cats can be spayed or neutered and that has helped reduce the population of feral cats in Amherstburg. Leardi added TNR programs are proven world-wide to be cost-effective and humane ways to deal with feral cat issues.
“We’re saving taxpayers a heck of a lot of money,” she said. “TNR programs prevent cats from roaming and causing a nuisance in the town.”
Leardi added she would like to see the bylaw repealed and to see neighbours work with neighbours. She said she tries to educate neighbours around her and inform them of what is happening.
Nikki Meloche said she has had family members approached by bylaw officials regarding the bylaw. She said her family are law-abiding citizens who help feed cats twice a day during daylight hours.
“We have also been actively TNR’ing cats for the last year-and-a-half,” she said.
Fines against family members could range, from what they’ve been told, from $350 to $5,000 and the possibility of criminal charges if the issue persists.
She estimates thousands of cats have been treated under the TNR program and when such a bylaw is in place, it could allow feral cats to roam neighbourhoods again. Vouchers cover costs to spay or neuter cats at the Windsor-Essex Humane Society, she added.
“The program works. It truly works,” she said. “We’re not looking to cause anyone grief.”
Both Leardi and Meloche said they approached council members and administration staff about the issue. They were in attendance at the Feb. 10 meeting when Pouget made the motion requesting the report come back to council from administration with further details on the matter.
Bylaw concerning to local cat groups
By Ron Giofu
Comentarios