Jefferson City Council considers 'humane euthanasia' to manage cat colonies
JEFFERSON, Iowa —
The Jefferson City Council discussed a new cat policy Tuesday that would allow people more freedom to do what they want with cats found on their property.
The town currently has a trap-neuter-release program.
During the meeting, the council debated the addition of a “humane euthanasia” policy to the program.
"If we knew what we were to do in this situation, we would have already done it,” Jefferson Mayor Matt Gordon said.
Jefferson’s cat controversy began in 2018 with police shooting feral cats.
The newly proposed policy would allow both the city and private property owners to trap cats. Cats without a microchip could be humanely euthanized or taken out of town.
Becky Robinson, with Alley Cat Allies shared concerns over the proposal.
"It's very dangerous,” Robinson said. “Community cats live everywhere, just like in Jefferson, and they can be managed with non-lethal control."
"People cannot do whatever they want to with cats in the state OF Iowa,” said Tom Colvin, with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. “There are laws about that and one of the laws is cruel abandonment."
Colvin, who attended the Jefferson City Council meeting, said he would like to see the city take advantage of ARL resources.
Gordon said the proposal to deal with cat colonies is open-ended and there are more options on the table following Tuesday’s meeting.
"I really feel like we had a good quality conversation with the people that know a lot about (trap-neuter-release) and animal control and are willing to help out,” he said.
"It is good having this discussion, an open discussion,” Colvin said. “It's certainly not okay to dump cats in the country or otherwise just catch cats and kill them."
A committee will further discuss options for handling the cats but no date has been set.
こちらが論点になっておるようです。
Cats without a microchip could be humanely euthanized or taken out of town.