Alley Cat Allies thanks all of the advocates who helped make this campaign a rousing success. We are designing a program for Randolph, and will be sharing it with you and the Randolph City Council in the coming days.
See how the story unfolded below.
A Bounty on Feral Cats in Randolph, Iowa
There has been national media frenzy over a story in Randolph, Iowa (pop. 209) where the mayor has instituted a $5 bounty payment on the catching and delivering of live cats and dogs to the mayor so that they can be taken to a local vet and killed. The mayor has already received two cats, which he housed on his property.
Not only is the practice inhumane and ineffective, it could result in the surrendering of companion cats and dogs.
Alley Cat Allies has been hard at work reaching out to Mayor Vance Trively, requesting that he put an immediate stop to his trap-and-kill policy, and encouraging him to implement a Trap-Neuter-Return program.
Residents are concerned about the plan devised by the mayor, voted on by the city council, and implemented March 1st.
Becky Robinson, President of Alley Cat Allies, has both spoken to Mayor Trively and sent him a letter explaining what Trap-Neuter-Return is and why it has proven to be the
most effective, humane method of managing outdoor cat populations.
Still, the mayor refused our help, saying he would only listen to us if we attended the city council meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2008 to voice our opinion.
With your help, we will continue to push for an immediate discontinuation of the bounty and implementation of Trap-Neuter-Return.
The government leaders of Randolph, IA do not have access to fax or e-mail.
Read the Mayor’s announcement.
Read Alley Cat Allies' Press Release.
UPDATE
Thursday, March 13, 2008: After attempts to work with Mayor Trively proved unfruitful, our legal team spent the morning researching the local laws in Iowa
and Freemont County. We quickly learned that the actions of the Mayor were potentially unlawful and took the initiative to alert the authorities.
We took action which resulted in the Iowa State Veterinarian promising to send a letter to the Mayor to alert him that it is unlawful to accept animals from the public without
proper authorization from the state and a license to operate a pound. The State Veterinarian requested that he cease and desist with harboring animals given to him
by the public.
Alley Cat Allies remained vigilant.
We contacted the Freemont County Sherriff’s office to request an investigation of the conditions in which the two cats were being held. We sought to ensure that the
Mayor was in compliance with the state laws pertaining to animal negligence. Mayor Trively told us on Wednesday that one cat had already died in his care. We requested an
investigation be done as to the cause of death. Further, we were told that the other cat has been taken from the Mayor’s home and brought to be boarded at a local veterinarian. We
will continue to press for an investigation and we will see to it that justice is served for the cat that died.
Alley Cat Allies is proud to say that other national organizations have reached out to Randolph, Iowa including Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kenab, Utah. We sent a letter
which will be delivered by one of our Feral Friends Network members to the Mayor and the City Council of Randolph tonight
at the City Council meeting stating again that we are here to help and further that other organizations have volunteered to help – if they simply end their trap-and-kill
program.
With your help, more than 2500 letters have been sent to the city of Randolph, Iowa requesting that they cease their inhumane bounty program. |
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