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City to pilot 12-month trap-neuter-release effort with local partner
Summary
City leaders and the police chief described a city-supported trap-neuter-release (TNR) effort that will coordinate city trapping with a nonprofit transport and a partner veterinarian; officials said spay/neuter costs will be covered under the existing Paws and Qualls contract and that the program will run as a 12-month pilot.
The Attica City Council heard from residents and public-safety staff on Nov. 10 about a planned trap-neuter-release program intended to reduce the local feral cat population.
Cindy Schaumburg, identified by the chair as the citizen raising the issue, told the council she works with a nonprofit TNR group in Illinois and said she has arranged for a ‘‘mass clinic day’’ to spay and neuter roughly 50–55 cats to jump-start local efforts. Council members and staff said they had discussed temporary holding space and logistics.
Chief Miller described how the city intends to operate the program: ‘‘We will be pre baiting the traps. We’ll be trapping the cats the night prior to our date for spay and neuter. Paws and Qualls will pick up in their transport van. They will be taken to the Paws and Qualls vet facility for spay and neutered. Once they are wake up and get their whereabouts, they will then be released back in the general vicinity of the area which they were trapped,’’ he said.
Miller said the city’s animal control staff includes a state-certified animal nuisance and wildlife-control agent and that the program will follow state Department of Natural Resources guidance. He told the council the city expects to absorb the logistics of trapping and pre-baiting while spay/neuter costs will be incorporated into the existing Paws and Qualls contract, so the city does not anticipate additional direct costs for veterinary services.
Council members asked logistical questions about whether the clinic would accept animals from nearby areas and whether the city would publicly disclose trap locations; staff and the partner said they would not publish trap sites to avoid tampering and that return locations would be in the general vicinity where animals were trapped.
Chief Miller said the effort is planned as a 12-month pilot to measure impact and capture reliable data before deciding on long-term adjustments.
The council did not take a formal vote on the matter during the meeting; members asked staff to continue coordination with the nonprofit partner and to resolve operational details such as temporary housing and owner-notification for chipped animals.
