Advocates urge East Brunswick Council to adopt TNR ordinance as residents recount hoarding and nuisance problems

At the East Brunswick Township Council meeting, residents and animal‑welfare volunteers urged the council to adopt a Trap‑Neuter‑Return (TNR) ordinance and to update Chapter 83 of the municipal code to give the town clearer authority to address feral‑cat colonies and hoarding situations.

A speaker read a statement on behalf of Lindsay Margosian of East Brunswick TNR, saying the township’s current code treats a person who feeds community cats as an “owner,” which requires licensing and, she argued, prevents effective nuisance abatement. The statement said the organization had asked for a pre‑meeting with officials by email but felt compelled to present at the council because they had not received a timely response. "TNR ordinance would fix all of that," the statement said, urging the council to adopt a local ordinance tailored to East Brunswick’s needs.

Several residents gave personal accounts. Susan Yans, who said she lives on Sheridan Avenue, described finding a mother cat and four kittens on her deck in December 2023 and repeatedly seeking municipal help before East Brunswick TNR intervened to trap, vaccinate and return animals. "I do not own any animals; at that moment I became a feral‑cat colony caretaker," she said, recounting delays in official responses.

Janine Denito said a TNR law would give the township leverage to respond to neighbor complaints because fixed, vaccinated cats typically show fewer nuisance behaviors. April Alban described a severe hoarding case in which responders used hazmat protections and credited local volunteers for trapping and saving kittens; she said volunteer groups stepped in after town officials were unable to act immediately. Alan Margosian urged a formal sit‑down meeting between the town and TNR volunteers and rescues to coordinate responses.

Speakers repeatedly argued that TNR reduces reproduction and nuisance behavior, can facilitate vaccination and monitoring, and — if codified — would create a legal pathway for nuisance abatement while protecting volunteers’ work. Advocates also said grant funding is available to support TNR programs.

Council did not vote on a TNR ordinance during the meeting. The council closed the public‑comment period and proceeded to the consent agenda and other business. Residents requested follow‑up meetings and stronger coordination between volunteers and town staff; those requests, as presented, remain outstanding.

The public‑comment portion closed with the council moving to the consent agenda; no ordinance change was introduced or adopted on the record during this meeting.