Shelter Released Unaltered Community Cats for Few Months

 

City Council will entertain community cats during its upcoming meeting.  Councilperson Lucy Gonzales asked the item be placed on the agenda.  The background packet states:

In October 2020, ASAC approved the return-to-field of unaltered cats as no funding was available to continue the shelter-neuter-return program. 

The October 2020 ASAC meeting shows Shelter Director Morgan Chegwidden saying "I have $6,000 in donations right now to continue the program."  That's more than "no funding."

The ASAC approved the framework presented, tiers of interventions based on funding.  At no time did Morgan inform the ASAC the shelter would immediately be releasing live unaltered cats into the community.  After the committee voted Morgan said the following:

"For any viewers watching in this is something we hope to continue fully into fiscal year 20 and we never get into that situation.where I'm having to decide to not rabies vaccinate or not spay/neuter cats so donations are welcome and appreciated."

Those watching the meeting would assume the $6.000 would be spent down before the shelter purposely violated the city ordinance requirement that pets be spayed/neutered..  The meeting minutes stated:

Consider approving standard operating procedure for returning community cats to field.A presentation was made by Neighborhood & Family Services Assistant Director Morgan Chegwidden. 

MOTION:  Chairperson Smith moved for approval, seconded by Committee member Wylie. The motion carried unanimously six (6) ayes to zero (0) nays.

It is odd the city did not approach their community cat partner CritterShack Rescue, which operates a low cost spay-neuter clinic for assistance in fixing community cats prior to release.  

City Council's background packet continues with:

This was approved as the previous policy of euthanizing healthy community cats was no longer conducive to the No Kill initiative. This practice occurred for a few months until our rescue partner Concho Valley PAWS collected resources to pull all of our community cats for spay/neuter and return. That is our current protocol for live releasing community cats.

Releasing trapped community cats back into the field unaltered goes against every tenet of community cat care-taking.

Returning spayed/neutered cats to the area of origin stabilizes the population and prevents new cats from coming in.

Releasing unaltered cats causes the population to eventually explode.  That's what the shelter did for "a few months."

Animal Services has a sizeable budget, $1,082,875 for the current fiscal year.  The budget has consistently gone up as the shelter initiated changes that choked off animal intake.

The Shelter also has three special capital projects totaling nearly $190,000 in this year's budget.

Council will consider the following recommendation.

$5,000.00 is recommended for a special program to spay/neuter community cats who are at risk of being deemed a nuisance.

Surely city leaders can spay/neuter and rabies vaccinate animals in their care, including community cats.  It's how the problem of pet overpopulation gets solved.  

Note:  Community cat caregivers spend their personal funds to fix and feed community cats.  Altogether caregivers cover a relatively small area of the city.  The ordinance gave caregivers the freedom to practice spay/neuter, return and maintain without harassment from Animal Control officers.  The city will not help citizens trap unwanted cats.  Citizens must obtain a trap, which the city will not provide, trap the cat and call the shelter to see if they will take it. 

The Shelter and PAWS recently refused to take cats dumped at a major employer.  How would you like to have to take home additional pets because you showed up for work one day?  This story raises doubts as to this statement to council: "San Angelo residents may bring in trapped/secured cats at no charge."

Update 6-15-21:   City Council heard there is a problem with a dozen cat colonies in the community.  It's not clear how Morgan knows if that is an official cat colony or a collection of cats that is not managed using trap-neuter-return-maintain.  No official from Critter Shack Rescue, a community cat sponsoring organization was invited to attend and answer questions of Council.

Update 6-18-21:  City staff not only did not invite Critter Shack Rescue to the Animal Services Advisory Committee meeting, Morgan spent considerable time running down their only community cat sponsoring organization.  Morgan did so after receiving an e-mail on 6-11-21 from Critter Shack's leader offering to meet and share information on the rescue's community cat efforts/successes.

Update 7-2-21:  City Council minutes inaccurately state "Council Member Thompson made a motion, seconded by Council Member Gonzales, to approve the item, as presented allocating $5,000 towards the spay, neuter, release program within known problem community cat colonies, with a communications strategy to accompany the effort. The motion carried unanimously (7) ayes to (0) nays."  The problem is nuisance cats.  It makes no sense for the city to TNR cats that have already been TNR'd.  Also, when not dumping unaltered cats the city's version of TNR is to return the altered cat to wherever the Animal Control Officer decides to dump it.  Those words came straight from the mouth of an Animal Control Officer.

Update 7-8-21:  Council approved the inaccurate minutes without discussion.  City ordinances have a method for dealing with problem community cat colonies.  The shelter is required to contact Critter Shack and work with colony caregivers if the problem persists.  As usual, shelter staff do not follow the ordinance.   City leader referred to following ordinances for nuisance animals as "the red tape way."  

Update 6-2-22:  Consider city leadership's painting "nuisance" cat collections as registered colonies.  This e-mail is from Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden.

I think it’s splitting hairs to distinguish (1) spontaneously occurring cats not dependent on a human for a source of food and (2) registered colonies.

I understand the ordinance has a specific definition but we’re observing any where that cats congregate – I’d call that a colony. A colony can simply mean a group of one or more community cats.

It's not hair splitting.  There are two drastically different responses.  Cat colony managers are responsible for the health and safety of their community cats.  The City is supposed to contact the sponsoring organization for any issues.  Critter Shack would then contact to colony caregiver and they would work to address problems.  The city is free to deal with nuisance cat collections in the vast real estate not covered by colony managers.  

Animal Shelter leadership's ignoring this basic split is concerning but it follows a longstanding pattern of city staff/leadership viewing animal ordinances as the red tape way.