The village of Cedarville, Ohio, is considering a series of outrageous and dangerous ordinances that could lead to cats being killed and criminalize the compassion of good Samaritans who care for them. These proposals would reverse decades of progress and establish Cedarville as one of the most regressive communities anywhere in the area of animal care and control.
Alley Cat Allies has been working to bring Cedarville leadership to the table and establish humane, effective, proven policies and programs to protect cats and kittens. But we have faced obstacles, and now the village is looking at a series of absurd proposals ranging from banning the feeding of cats to outlawing bird and squirrel feeders. Under the laws, even barking dogs and chirping birds would represent criminal behavior.
We are rallying as many advocates as possible to tell Cedarville leaders that Compassion is not a Crime. Our goal is to explain to them that cruel, pointless feeding bans do not work, and only cause cats to become more visible as they roam farther to find food.
Cedarville’s ordinances would also establish unnecessary bureaucratic roadblocks that would make Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) virtually impossible to practice. TNR is the only humane and effective approach to community cat populations. Encouraging more TNR, not raising restrictions, is the only way for Cedarville to make improvements for the cats and people who live in the village.
Criminalizing a caregiver for performing a community service by feeding cats is a betrayal of the village’s constituents. And if there is a question as to the lack of logic in these proposals, a ban on barking dogs and chirping birds speaks for itself.
Alley Cat Allies will continue our efforts in the area until we can be certain cats and caregivers aren’t subjected to cruel and absurd laws.