Update March 14, 2008: Last night the Randolph, Iowa city council voted to establish a trap neuter return program for feral cats!
The city decided to abandon the mayor’s plan of offering $5 bounty for each stray live dog or cat brought to him and which he would then have killed if it was not claimed by an owner.
It probably helped that the state vet had threatened a cease and desist order. As Animal Law Coalition pointed out in its earlier report, neither the mayor nor the city has a license to take animals from the public and basically operate a pound in this way.
It also helped that representatives of Alley Cat Allies appeared at the city council meeting last night and offered to institute a TNR program!
For more on this controversy, read ALC’s earlier report below.
Original report: There is a $5.00 bounty on live dogs and cats that are running loose in Randolph, Iowa. The mayor, Vance Trively, and city officials came up with this "final solution" to what they describe as an overwhelming problem with "feral" cats.
Geez….Really? I can understand that many burning issues may keep city officials in Randolph up at night -deaths of young soldiers in Iraq, high hay prices and energy costs, foreclosures, no money for schools. But feral cats? Please.
Under the mayor’s plan approved March 1, 2008, "bounty hunters" will receive $5 for each live loose or stray dog or cat brought to the city. If the animals are not claimed, they will be taken to Fremont  County Veterinary Clinic in Sidney, Iowa "for disposal".  At least that was the plan. Veterinarian Erik Laumann denies the clinic will participate in the killing of stray animals.
Local residents report that so far only 2 cats have been turned in for the bounty: one cat that was sick and died and another that is pregnant and is under the care of a vet. Â Several residents expressed disgust at the mayor’s "final solution" for stray cats and dogs, a plan which could result in the loss of people’s pets. Â
Alley Cat Allies has offered help in establishing a trap- neuter -return program. The mayor has said he will not consider it unless Alley Cat Allies appears at a hearing today, March 13, 2008 to discuss it.
The State Veterinarian’s office has said the mayor cannot just take animals into his care without authorization and a license to operate a pound. Iowa Code Sec. 162.3. There are a number of regulations a local government must follow in operating a pound. 21 IAC 67.1-.12
Alley Cat Allies has called on the local sheriff of Fremont County where Randolph is located, to investigate the care given to the two cats turned into the mayor so far.
For more on trap-neuter-return, click here.
To send a message to Mayor Trively that TNR is the preferred, humane method to control feral cat populations, click here.
Or contact the mayor and city council members by writing or calling:
Mayor: Vance Trively
City Council:
Don Wolfe
Al Wendland
Fred Fichter
Manford Foster
Janis Bliss
107 S Main St Randolph, Iowa 51649
712-625-2601Â
randolphcity@iowatelecom.net
Please be polite!
Sadly, the HSUS told the AP they had no problem with killing the cats as reported in a BF Blog on this story and posted to members by Michael Mountain.
Doc Wheeler