Commissioners to talk about horse odors, neutering stray cats
With hopes of reducing the growing number of homeless cats roaming neighborhoods, Seminole County plans to partner with nonprofit animal rescue groups to launch an initiative that will trap, neuter, vaccinate and release stray felines into the community.
As it updates its animal control regulations, the county also plans to crack down on animal hoarders, prohibit backyard breeding of dogs and cats and protect some horse owners from being cited for offensive odors. Seminole commissioners are scheduled to talk Tuesday and likely vote on the proposed ordinance.
A large portion of the ordinance addresses the new trap, neuter, vaccinate and release program — commonly known as TNVR — that cat lovers say helps reduce populations of homeless felines, also called “community cats.” Because the sterilized cat is returned to its colony and can no longer reproduce, supporters say that over time the number of feral cats in a neighborhood colony will decline and eventually disappear.
“We all want less community cats,” said Cathy Houde, community outreach manager for the nonprofit Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, at an animal control board meeting in March.
“The argument is how we achieve that goal successfully. We know that the trap, remove, kill method that has been in place for decades doesn’t work. When cats are removed, the resources remain, and new cats move in and breed to capacity.
“This is a fight you won’t win. Cats are too good at survival and reproduction.”
But the American Bird Conservancy in Washington, D.C. and other environmentalists say that TNVR programs are not effective
for controlling feral cat populations or reducing the spread of diseases, such as rabies, over the long term.
They consider feral cats as invasive species that kill native animals, such as birds, even after they have been neutered.
“Feral cats are one of the most harmful invasive species on the planet,” said Grant Sizemore, a director at the American Bird Conservancy. “Scientific studies related to the efficacy of TNVR have consistently shown that they do not reduce feral cat populations.
“And those cats continue to kill birds and other wildlife. They continue to spread infectious diseases, and they remain a nuisance to those communities where they have been re-abandoned . ... The cats that have been sterilized, to just abandon those cats is cruel to the animal.”
Sizemore added that a feral cat captured once and given a vaccine does not
mean immunization for life.
“These feral cats are not typically trapped every three years to be given a rabies booster,” he said. “And rabies continues to be a big problem in Florida.”
His organization recommends Seminole County and other local governments remove feral cats from a neighborhood to an animal shelter or animal rescue organization to be adopted or placed in a sanctuary. But “if all those options are exhausted,” then euthanizing the animal would be a last option, Sizemore said.
“It’s unacceptable to dump an unwanted dog or other animal into the environment, and it should be unacceptable to dump stray cats,” he said.
A 2020 University of Florida peer-reviewed study showed that TNVR programs administered by local governments across the country did not reduce homeless cat populations
because more felines were abandoned and introduced into cat colonies than the number captured, sterilized and released. The report estimated more than 30 million abandoned feral cats in the United States at the time.
The Florida Wildlife Commission does not endorse or oppose trap, neuter and release, and the agency is primarily “concerned with cat colonies that are having a direct impact on wildlife,” according to its website.
In drafting the proposed ordinance county staff checked with other local governments that have launched similar TNVR programs, including Hernando County.
“We want to do things very humanely,” said Alan Harris, chief administrator for Seminole’s office of emergency management, which oversees the animal services department.
“I would love for our shelter to be acres and acres, and buildings and buildings. Unfortunately, we don’t have that area.”
A homeless cat that has injured a person or damaged property will be trapped and removed and never released into the wild or the community where it was caught, according to the proposed ordinance.
Lisa Goldstein, a Fern Park resident, and president of the nonprofit Spay & Neuter Nation, said she was concerned about what happens to that cat after it is captured.
“It could be as simple as offering the resident a deterrent” for a cat not to destroy property, she said.
The proposed ordinance also limits homeowners to no more than six dogs and no more than eight cats per household. Otherwise, a pet owner would have to obtain a kennel license from the county.
The regulation is to prevent a resident from hoarding animals, Harris said.
Residents also would be prohibited from leaving pet food or food bowls outside at night to feed their pets or homeless cats.
The new ordinance would prohibit backyard breeding, or an owner whose animal produces more than one litter per year to sell them for profit.
It also exempts horse owners with at least 1 acre of land being cited if their animals “emit offensive odors... that disturb the comfort, peace or repose of any reasonable person residing in the vicinity.” The current ordinance only exempts landowners whose properties are zoned for agricultural use.
Commissioner Jay Zembower said he wants to protect a landowner who has long owned a small tract with horses suddenly being surrounded by new homes and the new neighbors complain about the odors.
“I’m just trying to bring some common sense,” he said. “Let’s not penalize someone because they are still living on their land and a new resident comes in and doesn’t like the odor.”
The proposed ordinance does not address whether Seminole dog and cat owners will continue to be required to license their pets. Harris said the county’s animal control board will likely take up the issue in the coming months and issue a recommendation to commissioners.
The county’s license mandate, which has been in place since the mid-1970s, is to encourage spaying and neutering and reducing rabies infections.
But recent county data shows that just under 7% of the county’s estimated 200,000 pet owners have licensed their animals.