Fond du Lac council to explore 'Trap, Neuter, Release' policy for control of stray or feral cats

FOND DU LAC – As local resources have become overwhelmed by stray or feral cats, the city council on Wednesday will learn more about a proposal to add a "Trap, Neuter, Release" (TNR) policy.

Madison Hernandez, a high school student at Fond du Lac's STEM Academy who first proposed the idea to the council, said she looked into how to help cats as part of a school project.

She said her goal is to reduce the number of feral or stray cats in the city in a humane way at a time of increasing pressure on animal control.

Patrick Mullen, council president, said the council was receptive to Hernandez's ideas of the TNR program, and city staff began working on how to make it feasible in the city.

Mullen said the TNR strategy is "just about the only way" to reduce the population of feral cats, and does it in a humane way as well.

The move comes as the Fond du Lac Humane Society recently stopped accepting stray animals due to contract negotiations with the city. The humane society said while the contract's terms have not changed much over the last 10 years, the shelter has had an increase in cats in its facilities, heightening the risk of diseases spreading.

The humane society's building has almost doubled its capacity of about 100 cats in the past year. Because staff do not euthanize animals that have spent a certain amount of time at the shelter or that don't fit in the shelter, the increase in cats has strained the city's resources for animal control.

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The TNR policy, according to a draft of a proposed ordinance, would allow for the capture and treatment of feral cats by a community caretaker, defined as volunteers who would provide care to any community cat "in good faith," then release them back into the area they found them.

As part of the treatment, the caretaker would bring the stray cats to a vet, who then would spay or neuter the cat, give it a rabies vaccine and "ear tip" it — cut out a small triangle on the cat's ear to show it has been captured and treated — before releasing it back into the community.

A memo in the council's agenda said multiple studies about TNR found enacting such a policy reduces shelter intake of cats and reduces the overall community cat population. Other cities across the state, including Oshkosh and La Crosse, have similar policies and rescue shelters like Sandi Paws Rescue Inc have been looking to propose TNR language in the city as well.

Hernandez believes this would help reduce the pressure on Fond du Lac's animal shelters and rescues over time.

"You're going to have more space in shelters and more funds going to other things to help (animal control)," she said.

Mullen said the council Wednesday night will look at making recommendations to the city to add language that would support a TNR program and and potentially eliminate certain ordinances to facilitate the program.

However, he said there are "things to iron out," like what to do if someone's pet is accidentally trapped or who is allowed to provide veterinary services, but Mullen said shelter groups have told him they support the program.

"It seems like a humane way to reduce the population, and cats who have been fixed are better neighbors," he said.

Mullen said the Wednesday meeting is intended to provide direction to city staff. Any next steps for the TNR policy, including changes to ordinances, would come at a later meeting.

Contact Bremen Keasey at 920-570-5614 or bkeasey@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Keasinho.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac council to discuss TNR policy for controlling stray cats