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By Regan Tate

Council to hear presentation on feral cat issue tonight

Aug 21, 2023 | 4:29 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A program that aims to address the feral cat population in our city is back up for debate at tonight’s council meeting.

With shelters overflowing, animal advocates want council to adopt a trap-neuter-release program.

If passed it would allow accredited groups to gather up strays in certain areas, sterilize them, and then release them back into the community.

A petition was launched by Animal Food Bank founder Nicole Frey calling on city council to implement the program. About 1,300 people have signed the petition.

But not everyone supports the program.

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Linda Patrick will be addressing council tonight to express her concerns

“One of their TNR requirements is their going to release the animals after 24 hours out of anesthetic which is inhumane as animals will be defenseless basically and could get killed or injured or substantially anything could happen. So it needs to be a closed, protected environment,” she says. “Also you know feral cats as well, leaving them out for themselves to wander is very dangerous as well. So any cat on its own, homeless, needs more support is what we’re trying to say.”

It’s estimated there are around 4,200 feral cats in the city