National nonprofit urges city council to reject feeding ban and pet limit law
For Immediate Release: March 17, 2014
Contact: JOHNNIE SIMPSON, [email protected] or (240) 482-3895 or FRANCIE ISRAELI, [email protected] or (202) 207-1134
BETHESDA, MDAlley Cat Allies, the nation’s largest advocacy group for cats, today urges the Antioch City Council to reject a proposed ordinance that would impose a feeding ban and pet limit law in the city.
Alley Cat Allies is offering a $2,000 grant for spay/neuter services to Antioch if the city council rejects the proposed pet limit law and feeding ban and instead becomes a Trap-Neuter-Return-friendly community. The vote is scheduled for March 25, 2014 at the city council meeting.
“Feeding bans and pet limit laws hinder Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and punish caregivers for their compassion,” says Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies. “The punitive ordinances proposed will not decrease Antioch’s feral cat population. Instead, we have offered our expertise and funding to help establish a TNR program.”
In a TNR program, community cats are humanely trapped and brought to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped (the universal symbol that a cat has been neutered and vaccinated), before being returned to their outdoor homes. TNR ends the reproduction cycle, and behaviors associated with matingsuch as yowling and sprayingstop, addressing community concerns and decreasing calls to animal control.
Karen Kops, president of Homeless Animal Response Program in Antioch, recently presented Trap-Neuter-Return to the city council and encouraged the city to adopt lifesaving programs for cats. “We are asking for the opportunity to work with the city staff to manage a TNR program,” Kops says. “We are extending our hands again with the hope that we can form a true partnership to find a humane and effective solution.”
Thousands of communities across the country are carrying out TNR programs. In the last decade, cities and counties that officially endorse TNR has increased ten-fold to over 460, including San Jose, Elk Grove, and Oakland.
Residents of Antioch, Calif. are urged to contact their city council members and tell them to oppose the proposed feeding ban and pet limit lawand endorse TNR.
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About Alley Cat Allies
Alley Cat Allies is the only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats. Founded in 1990, today Alley Cat Allies has over half a million supporters and helps tens of thousands of individuals, communities, and organizations save and improve the lives of millions of cats and kittens nationwide. Its website is www.alleycat.org.