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Local residents urge City of Bryan to adopt trap‑neuter‑return policy and formal community‑cat program
Summary
Speakers with veterinary and volunteer experience urged the council to place trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) and community‑cat management on a future agenda, citing research and local volunteer activity; one speaker said current Bryan ordinance penalizes people who try to help feral cats.
Two speakers with animal‑care experience asked the City of Bryan council to add community cat management and a trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) program to a future council agenda and to revise enforcement that currently penalizes volunteer caregivers.
Amanda Blake, who said she holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M’s Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, asked the council to discuss TNR resources. Blake told the council she has coordinated TNR for more than 108 feral cats in Bryan and College Station since January 2024 using Aggieland Humane Society services and cited peer‑reviewed studies and local research showing TNR’s efficacy. She said research from Texas A&M and internationally supports collaborative, citizen‑driven TNR programs and urged municipal encouragement and coordination with local partners such as Aggieland Humane Society and the BCS Spay Neuter Project.
Sabrina Brown described being turned away from the Bryan Animal Center when attempting to surrender a friendly cat and said she subsequently falsified identification to surrender the animal to Aggieland Humane Society; she said she was threatened with a citation under Bryan’s stray animal ordinance for feeding a stray. Brown urged council to create a clear pathway for community cat managers and recommended a robust, volunteer‑driven TNR program tied to the city’s planned animal shelter and to partner with local veterinary resources, including Texas A&M students, for sterilization appointments. Brown said she delivered signatures from 228 community members, including seven veterinary professionals, in support of adding the item to a future agenda.
Speakers asked the council to make it lawful and administratively straightforward for volunteers to work with municipal animal control, and to enable a path for atonement and community service rather than fines for residents who have attempted to assist feral cats. Council did not set a date to consider TNR or community‑cat management at this meeting; staff did not provide immediate policy changes on the record.
