Burlington ordinance committee holds public forum on cat licensing and banning free‑roaming cats

The Burlington City Ordinance Committee on Tuesday held a public forum to hear residents and experts on recommendations from the city's dog task force to require cat identification and registration and to prohibit cats from roaming freely outdoors. Chair Joan Shannon opened the hearing saying the committee had no vote planned and wanted to collect public feedback before any deliberation.

The issue drew dozens of residents and multiple expert witnesses, who framed the proposals as measures to protect wildlife, public health and cats themselves. Lori Kettler of the dog task force summarized the three central recommendations: require visible identification for cats, require city registration similar to dogs, and prohibit free‑roaming cats. "The main reason that we made those recommendations was to facilitate the reunion of cats who might be lost with their owners," Kettler said, adding the policies would also support vaccination and public‑safety goals.

Grant Sizemore, director of invasive species programs at the American Bird Conservancy, told the committee that outdoor cats are a leading human‑caused source of bird deaths in the United States. "Owned and unknown cats kill about 2,400,000,000 birds every single year in this country," Sizemore said, citing a national estimate and saying a large share of that total is attributable to unowned or "unknown" cats. He and other experts said keeping cats under owner control, identifying them and increasing return rates for lost animals would reduce wildlife mortality.

Representatives from Vermont wildlife rehabilitation groups and veterinarians gave local context. Bren Lundborg, assistant director of the rehabilitation clinic at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), said VINS treats more than 1,000 birds annually and estimates that 6 to 10 percent of intakes over the past five years were directly cat‑related; for some vulnerable groups of songbirds the figure rises to about 10 to 14 percent. Veterinarian Peggy Larson urged microchipping over collars because collars can become entangled and harm cats.

Public commenters expressed mixed views. Many residents in the Old North End, New North End and other neighborhoods described repeated encounters with roaming cats that they said killed birds, damaged gardens or defecated in yards. "I have found and disposed of at least 10 gray squirrels in the past two years from our front yard and our backyard," said Judy Barber, who told the committee she has repeatedly seen one particular cat hunting in her yard. Other residents and several speakers urged caution about enforcement costs and potential impacts on low‑income or elderly residents, and said feral and stray cat populations must be addressed alongside rules for owned animals.

Several residents and speakers urged a phased approach and clearer information about enforcement. Task force member Joanne Kalise said the committee should consider affordability measures for microchipping and licensing. Councilors on the committee repeatedly said no final action would be taken at the forum and that they will review emails, the task force report and public testimony before committee deliberations.

The committee did not introduce or vote on an ordinance at the forum. Shannon said the committee will compile the public input and continue work on the dog task force recommendations. The committee also noted ongoing concerns about feral cat colonies and the need to consider enforcement capacity, program costs and equitable options for residents with limited resources.

The committee invited residents to continue submitting written comments; no timeline for drafting or voting on an ordinance was announced at the hearing.