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Clay County fighting feral cats
Ordinance bans feeding feral cats on public property
Author: Elizabeth Campbell, General assignment reporter, ecampbell@wjxt.com
Published On: Apr 21 2015 05:00:01 AM EDT Updated On: Apr 21 2015 05:13:24 AM EDT
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
A cat fight is brewing in Clay County. Protestors are expected outside Orange Park City Hall, Tuesday night over a proposed ordinance to ban feeding feral cats on public property.
Last week, News4JAX told you about the feral cat problem in Clay County. The county's Animal Care and Control director even asked the county commission for help fighting the problem.
It's a nationwide problem and according to Animal Care and Control, there are 5,000 cats that are not spayed or neutered and continuing to reproduce. This is a problem when they can only take in about 2,000 cats each year.
The Orange Park commission is considering an ordinance that would make it illegal to feed feral cats on non-residential property. The ordinance says the cats are a danger to the health, safety, and welfare of citizens in Orange Park.
more:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/clay-county-fighting-feral-cats/32479714
It is absolutely out of control. I see 5-7 feral cats a day and hear the dog barking at several more. It's almost that time of the year when we get to pull a litter of feral cats out from the wall.
Every morning I come to work and see the same woman scattering food for these cats. She comes on the weekends too. The cats have so much food they end up leaving leftovers for the seagulls and racoons. Right now I can hear the seagulls swirling and gathering the remnants of last nights left over cat food. Did you know that seagulls shit once every 20 minutes and have impeccable aim?
I want to trap them in a Haveahart, get them spayed or neutered, and then re-release them. However, this costs money and time. Banning the public feeding around here would go a long way towards curbing the problem.
We just need more big owls and some coyotes.