MT LAUREL: DON'T STARVE OUT FERAL CATS AND FINE EMPATHETIC RESIDENTS FOR ACTS OF COMPASSION

  • by: Lynn Mangano
  • recipient: Mount Laurel Municipal Clerk Meredith Tomczyk
Mt. Laurel Council has been discussing making it illegal to feed feral cats and dogs. But the real problem is not feeding the strays -- it's a lack of Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs.

Please sign my petition asking Mt. Laurel Council to vote NO on making it illegal to feed stray animals!

Municipal Clerk Meredith Tomczyk made the proposal to council after Burlington County officials recommended the township pass an ordinance on the subject, citing health and safety concerns with residents. But the real issue here is not of health and safety, it is that Burlington County has a huge feral cat population and it isn't going away just because residents may stop feeding feral animals to avoid fines.

Tomczyk's suggestion of starving out the ferals and strays is not going to work. Trap Neuter Return and Manage programs are the only method of control that truly work. If you stop feeding ferals they almost always relocate near a food source, so it's just a hope that they'll leave town and become another town's concern.

The feral/stray cat population in Mt. Laurel, as well as every other town, only exists due to the irresponsibility of residents who chose not to sterilize their animals in the first place and lack of education.

It's time that Mt. Laurel residents and Council start taking responsibility. Instead of making it illegal to feed ferals and strays, which only ignores the core issue, why not enforce that all pet owners sterilize their animals? Why not implement a TNRM program? These are questions that deserve answers.

There are numerous ways to approach maintaining the population that do not involve the barbaric act of killing of innocent animals. Mt. Laurel should be educating the public on the importance of sterilizing their animals, not fining compassionate residents for feeding helpless animals. There are thousands of feline groups that would be more than happy to assist in a TNR program that would save the township, tax payers and the state a substantial amount of money and resources.

Please sign my petition asking Mt. Laurel Council to vote NO on making it illegal to feed stray animals!

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