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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A: Feral Cats ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Feral Cats Meeting Date: June 25, 2008 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Central Services Staff Contact: Dee Ann Raile/Mary Walston www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5010 ISSUE STATEMENT This work session is being held as a result of a successful work session poll at the request of Councilor Solomon. The request for the work session was to have “a discussion of feral cats’ impact on neighborhoods and livability, and consideration of options to mitigate some of the impacts.” BACKGROUND The City Council in May of 2002 discussed the general topic of animal control. The work session touched upon the definition of a dangerous dog, licenses for cats, and concerns related to wildlife within the city. No action was directed by the council at that work session. At the time the poll was conducted there were also concerns cited about wildlife such as nutria, raccoons, deer and wild turkeys. While these are critical for some community residents, wildlife falls under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The primary focus of this work session is to discuss feral cats and possible solutions to address the impact the growing population of cats has on the community. Feral cats are a particular issue in the west part of Eugene where there are open areas, such as the intersection of Barger and Greenhill roads where cats have been abandoned to survive on their own. Many residents in Ward 6 have contacted Councilor Solomon to complain about problems associated with feral cats. It may be helpful to define a “feral cat.” A feral cat is simply the wild offspring of domestic cats and is primarily the result of people failing to spay or neuter or abandoning their cats. These cats survive as well as they can, living near restaurants, shopping centers, parks, dumps, or in rural areas. Feral cats often live in loose groups, or colonies, and usually go out of their way to avoid human contact. A feral cat is not the neighborhood cat allowed to wander freely, but a cat that is the second generation, or more, of an abandoned cat. These cats, being unaltered, breed and produce more feral cats. Eugene residents are not alone in expressing concern and frustration about feral cats. As a quick review of Internet websites reveals, many communities face the same challenges regarding feral cats. It is estimated that there are over 70 million feral cats in the United States. A recent estimate puts the number of feral cats in Lane County at 40,000. Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080625\S080625A.doc Lane County Animal Services (LCAS) used to accept feral cats and would then euthanize them; they no longer do this and are instead promoting a developing trap, neuter and return program in conjunction with other local animal welfare groups. A review of information and research on the Internet (see attachments) indicates that the recommended and most humane way to address the problem of feral cats is the “trap, neuter and release” method. In this approach the cats are captured, treated for medical issues, vaccinated, spayed or neutered and then released. This program is outlined in several of the attached articles. Clearly, the need to spay/neuter is paramount to address the pet over-population problem nationally and locally and to address feral cats. At the current time, the City operates a low cost spay/neuter clinic for owned animals, there is no option for addressing feral cats at the City’s clinic. The clinic is self-supporting and thus sets it fees to cover costs. The Spay and Neuter Clinic completes about 3,500 surgeries on cats and dogs each year. The program is estimated to cost about $450,000 in the current fiscal year, including approximately $40,000 in indirect cost for support services such as Finance, Human Resources and Information Services. The revenue received from fees for service will be approximately $420,000 this fiscal year. In FY09, the cost of the operation including the indirect cost and the revenue are both budgeted at $450,000. Because fees were not recovering both the direct and indirect cost of operations in this fiscal year, fees were increased earlier this month on June 1. The fees were benchmarked against low-cost providers in the community. The cost to spay a cat ranged from $65 to $75. The fee at the Spay and Neuter Clinic was increased on June 1 from $60 to $65 for this service. At the same time, the fee to neuter cats at the clinic was increased from $42 to $50. Low cost providers in the community charge $35 to $55 for this service. At this point in time, to recover the full cost of operations, fees at the clinic are at the bottom or in the middle of the fees charged for similar services by low-cost providers in the private sector. Prior to June 1, the fees were increased in April 2006, and November 2004. The other program offered at the clinic is the low-income voucher program. The program requires clients to pay $20 instead of the standard fees of $65 and $50 for the spay and neutering of cats. The remaining cost of the service is paid for with 5% of the sales of dog licenses. This 5% equals approximately $8,000 in the current fiscal year. At the present time, there is no cat licensing program in either Eugene or Lane County as a whole. Cat licensing can be a means to control the cat population, return lost cats to owners, and to help hold cat owners responsible for damage done by cats. Supporters of cat licensing programs cite the ability to control cat populations and the prevention of euthanasia of cats as major reasons to enact a program. A fee structure could be created to cover costs of such programs. Opponents of cat licensing report a reluctance to place or retain collars on cats and the inability to enforce a licensing program as primary reasons not to license cats. Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080625\S080625A.doc The City of Novato, California has developed a program to implant microchips in cats as a means to identify cats, prevent euthanasia of cats with owners, and to force spaying or neutering of the animal. This program seems to offer a compromise to both sides of the cat licensing debate. There are more Draconian options such as capturing the colony and euthanizing its members. Research seems to indicate that this offers only a temporary solution as other feral cats move into the territory. (See the research study conducted by Stanford University). RELATED CITY POLICIES The City has regulations and requirements related to dogs and livestock within the City limits, but cats and feral cats are not addressed in any of these. COUNCIL OPTIONS The City Council has several options and could pursue one or more: ? Direct the City Manager to work with local animal welfare groups to determine the feasibility of developing a formal, City-supported “trap, neuter, release” program including educating the community on spay/neuter and feral cat issues. ? Review in detail various cat licensing and/or microchip programs as a way to control cat population and as a source of revenue for animal control issues. ? Take no action at this time. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends Option 1, working with local animal welfare groups to determine the feasibility of developing support for a “trap, neuter and return” program. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to direct the City Manager to bring back a report by the end of the calendar year with recommendations and resource needs to assist local animal welfare groups to address the issue of feral cats. ATTACHMENTS A. Excerpt from Minutes of May 8, 2002, Council Work Session B. The Humane Society of the United States Position Statement on Trap, Neuter, Return C. Webpage of Feral Cat Project D. Metro Animal Feral/Stray Cat Resources E. Feral Cats: Trapping is the Kindest Solution F. Voices for Animals: Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project G. Alley Cat Allies: Feral Cat News H. Stanford Cat Network Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080625\S080625A.doc FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Dee Ann Raile Mary Walston Telephone: 682-5041 682-5406 Staff E-Mail: Deeann.Raile@eugene.ci.or.us Mary.F.Walston@ci.eugene.or.us Z:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080625\S080625A.doc