(2/12) A Carroll Valley council member ‘let the cat-out-of-the-bag’ regarding his feelings on feral and domestic outdoor felines at the board’s February 12 meeting.
The discussions regarding outdoor cats stemmed from a line item in the treasurer’s report regarding the expenditure of $35 per cat processed under the trap, neuter, and return (TNR) program in Carroll Valley.
"Studies have been done to show that, since 1970, we’ve lost nearly three billion birds from the bird population in the United States," Council President Richard Mathews said. "There are an estimated 110 million cats running free and wild."
"The number one cause of the loss of the birds is loss of habitats. Anyone want to guess what the number two cause is? Feral cats."
The council president further stated, "All of the environmental groups are recommending that people house the cats and not let them run free. There’s other wildlife that are being destroyed by these cats."
"I think it’s time that the State of Pennsylvania change these laws so we can remove these cats, which are really domestic cats that are running wild," Mathews said. "We have a parks, recreation, and environment committee, and the environment committee portion is contributing to the loss of wildlife."
Councilman David Lillard said, "If you don’t spay and release cats, then we are making more cats. More cats - more dead birds," adding, "Not dealing with this program (spay and release), we’re just making the other problem bigger that you’re talking about."
"I’m saying that you find homes for them," Mathews said. "Let people take them in. There’s one (cat colony) on Helen Trail that keeps breeding and eating birds, because I’ve seen them do it. It’s an environmental issue."
"Dogs can’t run free," he said, "but we’re allowing cats to run free."
Sarah Skoczen, who manages the TNR program in the borough, noted that some feral cats are not adoptable. "The ones that are tame… we take them in and find them homes. Every year we decrease the number that goes through (the system) because it (TNR) is working. TNR is the only humane way to decrease the population."
"If you quickly remove a large population of cats from an area, you’re going to get cats from outside the area coming in because there are now available resources" abandoned by the removed population, Skoczen said.
The council took no formal action on the issue of cat control.
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