Trap-Neuter-Release program passes first reading

Animal Shelter volunteer Rebecca Haskins keeps the cats calm as the staff moves into a temporary shelter in 2019. (File Photo)</p>” data-image-description=”<p>Rebecca Haskins Animal Shelter cats</p>” data-image-meta=”{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"Pixel 2","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1572436702","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.442","iso":"289","shutter_speed":"0.008335","title":"","orientation":"1"}” data-image-title=”MVIMG_20191030_115822″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1″ data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1″ data-orig-file=”https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=1920%2C1440&ssl=1″ data-orig-size=”1920,1440″ data-permalink=”https://county17.com/2019/10/30/animals-temporarily-move-across-the-parking-lot-for-rennovations/mvimg_20191030_115822/” decoding=”async” fetchpriority=”high” height=”585″ sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” src=”https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=165%2C125&ssl=1 165w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?resize=600%2C450&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1&w=370 370w, https://i0.wp.com/county17.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MVIMG_20191030_115822.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1&w=400 400w” width=”780″>

GILLETTE, Wyo. — An ordinance establishing a new Trap-Neuter-Release program to answer the rise and proliferation of feral cats within city limits advanced Tuesday night following a vote by the Gillette City Council. 

During the council meeting on May 6, members voted to advance the proposed TNR ordinance to its second reading. The ordinance creates a mechanism for individuals to report feral cats so they can be captured, spayed or neutered, and returned to their original location. It also creates an exception to the city’s at-large, stray, and abandonment regulations. 

The proposed ordinance is a response to a need for innovation in addressing the issues presented by community cats recognized by the city, which has determined the TNR approach is the most effective and humane method to manage and reduce the number of feral or ownerless cats within the community. 

Under the proposed ordinance, city staff and other qualified personnel could capture cats and take them to the City of Gillette Animal Shelter, where they will be ear-tipped, altered, and given at least one rabies vaccination before being returned to where the animal was captured, assuming it fits the definition of a community cat. 

Per the proposed ordinance, a community cat is any free-roaming cat lacking any identifiable evidence of ownership with access to adequate food, water, and shelter. A community cat may be cared for by one or more residents and may or may not be socialized. 

Community cats have to be ear-tipped, which entails the removal of one-quarter-inch of a cat’s left ear to serve as the animal’s identification that it has been altered and lawfully vaccinated for rabies before release. 

Each cat must be caught in a humane trap, which is a device designed to capture or contain an animal without injuring it, the ordinance states, adding that community cats are exempt from any stray or at-large provisions. 

Additionally, the proposed ordinance says that any community cats that disturb the peace by habitually or repeatedly destroying, desecrating, or soiling private property could be considered a nuisance under the current city code. 

The matter must pass two more readings before it can enter the final stages of becoming law.

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