END the Bounty on Stray Cats in Randolph Iowa
- da: Angela Bouman
- destinatario: Mayor Vance Trively, Randolph Iowa
UPDATE: March 14, 2008 from Action 3 News - Officials in Randolph have agreed to stop the bounty. Please see: http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=8015068&nav=menu550_1
for more details.
I still STRONGLY encourage you to sign this petition - We are moving forward with this and still hope to reach our 1000 signature goal. We have a very strong "lack of trust" for the Mayor's word at this point and will still be presenting him with this petition. Please sign and pass this information along. Our voices will be heard. Thank you!
Original Petition:
Mayor Vance Trively says that the southwest Iowa town of 200 people is being overrun by dozens of feral cats and needed to do something. So, he is offering a $5 bounty on each feral cat that is turned in.
"You can't just let them keep multiplying in town," Trively said.
Town officials approved the bounty after receiving numerous complaints, ranging from a cat attacking a small dog to a dozen cats showing up at the bowl when a resident tried to feed his own cat.
"One guy threatened to shoot all of them. I told him he couldn't do that in town. Other people talk about poisoning them, but you can't do that in town,"Trively said.
Since the bounty went into effect March 1, two cats have been turned in.
PLEASE sign this petition if you would like to save the lives of these innocent, feral cats. TNR is a MUCH more humane program and would be very effective at reducing the over-population problem.
While we do support efforts to control feral populations, your scheme is seriously flawed:
1. People needing money will steal cats which are people's pets and turn them in. Also, it encourages just such people as are referenced in the article to shoot, poison and otherwise kill and torture innocent animals whose only "crime" was to be born from a cat owned by a HUMAN who didn't treat his/her pet RESPONSIBLY and have that pet spayed/neutered. I think you'll agree that causing the cats to suffer for human neglect is unfair and barbaric. Who, I ask you, commits the "wrong" here: the cat or the irresponsible human? I think the answer is obvious.
2. TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) programs accomplish the goal of reducing the feral cat population while allowing existing ferals to continue to live in managed colonies under the care of people who manage them. I suggest you contact Alley Cat Allies to find out more about how your town can institute a TNR program. (Website: http://www.alleycat.org/)
3. Just because a cat is feral does NOT mean he/she is not adoptable ... however, a program such as yours merely lumps them all into one category: "unwanted and therefore disposable animals". NO animal is "disposable". Why not put more efforts into spreading the word & encouraging pet owners to become more responsible and spay/neuter their pets, as well as keep them inside where they are safe? Or is just killing them the easiest solution you can think of?
4. There are also programs like SNAP that employ mobile spay/neuter services either for free or at low costs. (Website: http://www.snapus.org/site/PageServer) I know a lady in our area (Caswell Co., NC) who works tirelessly to schedule SNAP vans to come to the Triad area of NC and spay/neuter cats (and dogs, too) on a regular basis. This type of program WORKS.
I'm shocked and outraged at this program and frankly, I hope your office is flooded with Emails expressing similar sentiments and rightly condemning this ill-conceived and barbaric plan to rid Randolph of its feral cat population.
Surely in this 21st century we are beyond the days when cats were tied up in bags & tossed into the river? Can't you think of SOME OTHER more humane and positive method of addressing this problem? I feel sure you can - there are many resources out there available to help, and I sincerely hope and pray that you and your staff stop this stupid program ASAP and begin to explore those options.
The eyes of the country are upon you, and you will be known & judged by how you deal with this issue. Thank you for taking time to read this letter.
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