they should do it for dogs too. EVERY town in EVERY state.
Mansfield levies fees for fertile cats
(Mansfield-WTNH, May 30, 2006 10:25 PM) _ Under a new ordinance, cat owners in Mansfield have to have their felines spayed or neutered or else pay a yearly fee.
by News Channel 8's Sara Welch
There are plenty of kittens and cats staying at the shelter in Mansfield.
All day long the town's Animal Control Officer fielded calls about stray cats.
"It's a huge problem. I find cats abandoned here at the shelter. People find strays in their yards," says Noranne Nielsen, animal control.
The over-population of stray and unwanted felines has grown so out of control in the Mansfield that town leaders are taking steps to stop it.
A new ordinance will require cats older than six months to be spayed or neutered.
"It's a matter of owners taking responsibility."
The mayor says part of the problem stems from the town's transient population such as students at UConn who leave their cats behind. Noranne Neilsen has seen the sad side of overbreeding.
"I have seen litters frozen to death in the winter or kittens eaten by coyotes and I don't want this to happen we want them to find a good home.".............
and from the courant
Mansfield Institutes Spay-Or-Pay Option For Cats
By STEPHANIE SUMMERS Courant Staff Writer May 30 2006 MANSFIELD -
- For all you dogs feeling singled out by the leash law, wait till you see what they're doing to the cats in Mansfield.Unlike their more regulated canine counterparts, cats don't have to wear tags and are free to roam. State law requires only that cats be vaccinated against rabies.But last week, the town council unanimously approved an ordinance to require that cats older than 6 months be spayed or neutered unless the owner pays a $75 annual fee for an "unaltered animal" permit.You could call it a license to breed.Town officials hope most residents will willingly pay the fee, but the animal control officer is ready to enforce the ordinance when cats are found and returned to their owners.Mansfield is the first town in the state to approve a cat spay/neuter measure, says Susan Linker, president of the Animal Welfare Federation of Connecticut.Why single out cats? Because those aforementioned feline freedoms have led to cat overpopulation and abandonment problems, say animal control and rescue experts. Linker says the best estimate of free-roaming cats statewide is 500,000......
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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2 comments:
Yes! I hate when people just don't care and let their pets have more animals that end up in shelters...or worse.
cgg-i'd love to see it NATIONWIDE! chet would too i'm sure
e b - shelters are the BEST of the worst. i swear i watch too many episodes of animal cops on animal planet. the things people are capable of doing is beyond imagination YET THEY'RE DOING THEM to helpless animals. no conscience, no heart. JUST NO DAMN GOOD
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