Letter to the Editor: On Tues, April 30th, 2024, there will be a public forum in front of the St. Mary’s County Commissioners to discuss the proposed animal ordinance at 6:30 p.m., at the Chesapeake Building at 41770 Baldridge St, Leonardtown. Citizens will be allowed to voice their concerns. You will need to sign up when you arrive in order to speak. You don’t have to speak.
The ordinance does not include anything allowing Trap, Neuter, Return. We need to say we want it included.
“They also are putting in the ordinance, that citizens are not allowed to feed animals on county land. I believe they are doing this so that no one will be allowed to feed the feral cats next to the Lexington Park Post Office. We first started doing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) there in 2011. Someone has consistently fed those cats for at least 14 years and now the ordinance will make this illegal. The cats will starve or become very unhealthy. This is cruel and I hope that our government is not cruel.”
When Feral Cat Rescue started in 2007, Tri County Shelter was euthanizing 550 cats a month. Every year, that number dropped. In 2020 it was 60 cats euthanized a month. TNR works. It is accepted in many places around the world and in many US jurisdictions including Fairfax County, PG County, Montgomery County, City of Rockville, Baltimore and many others.
Last year at our St Mary’s Shelter they euthanized 113 cats. 54 of those cats were healthy feral cats. This is not necessary with TNR!
If you are uncomfortable speaking, please be brave and simply get up there and say you believe in TNR and that you think it is inhumane to discontinue feeding the Lexington Park feral colony. If you are too uncomfortable, at least be there to support.
We spayed and neutered 774 cats in 2023. We spent $93,000 to do so. Many of us worked really hard for free and spent our own money and time for this cause. We want the St Mary’s County Commissioners to support our efforts by including TNR in the ordinance. Every animal that goes through those shelter doors costs taxpayers money and we are preventing that from happening. The Commissioners and taxpayers benefit from our efforts and need to support us.
