mobanmarketGREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Board of Selectmen last week took its first look at a draft ordinance aimed at curbing feral cat issues in town, particularly in Old Greenwich.
No vote was taken, as this was a first read of the draft language. The selectmen are next scheduled to meet on Sept. 26.
The issue of feral cats was first discussed at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Aug. 8. Residents have detailed their experiences dealing with cats on their properties and the damage they’ve caused.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Barbara Schellenberg, a town attorney, said the draft ordinance is modeled after other ordinances that have been passed by towns throughout Connecticut, and the language is taken mostly from state statutes.
“Consistent with what the statute allows, it provides that within one year of the adoption of this ordinance, a keeper of feral cats within the town shall register with the animal control officer for the town. When the keeper registers, the animal control officer needs to provide information to the keeper regarding the proper care and management of those cats, and also the keeper of the feral cats has to provide for the vaccination of the cats against rabies and also for the sterilization of the cats,” Schellenberg said. “It also goes on to say that a keeper shall be considered an eligible owner for purposes of the animal population control program.”
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A section of the ordinance states that “no person owning or keeping any cat shall permit such animal to substantially damage property other than the property of the owner or keeper; or cause an unsanitary, dangerous or unreasonably offensive condition.”
Owners or keepers would be fined $60 for each violation of that section.
Schellenberg said it appears the statute “isn’t allowing for penalties just because somebody doesn’t register” their cats within a year.
“That doesn’t mean that the animal control officer couldn’t take certain actions if there’s a problem or warnings couldn’t be issued, that kind of thing, but it does seem that the legislature did not intend for monetary penalties or fines to be imposed for that particular violation,” she said.
According to the draft ordinance, the animal control officer “may take into custody any cat found to be damaging the property other than the property of its owner or keeper or causing an unsanitary, dangerous or unreasonably offensive condition unless such cat can be identified as under the care of its owner or a registered keeper of feral cats.”
The animal control officer can impound a cat taken into custody “unless, in the opinion of a licensed veterinarian, the cat is so injured or diseased that it should be destroyed immediately,” the draft ordinance states.
The animal control officer shall immediately notify owners or keepers about their impounded cat, the draft ordinance notes. If a cat is not claimed within seven days, the animal control officer, if the cat is in good health, may sell such a cat as a pet to any person who can give the animal a “good home and proper care.”
If any cat is not claimed by and released to the owner or keeper or purchased as a pet, “the animal control officer shall cause such cat to be mercifully killed by a licensed veterinarian or disposed of as the state veterinarian may direct,” the draft ordinance says.
First Selectman Fred Camillo said he’d object to that section.
“I’d love to avoid that. I’ve spent most of my life in animal welfare rescuing, and I get why it’s in there, and sometimes that’s necessary, but if we can at all avoid that — that’s not why we’re doing this,” Camillo said. “We’re doing this for the animals, to find them a proper place because this is not how they should be kept, and also for the residents there to give them a break for the damage that was going on there.”
Once the Board of Selectmen approves an ordinance, the Representative Town Meeting must weigh in and vote. The selectmen could vote at their next meeting.
Camillo said the RTM, which typically holds two readings of agenda items, won’t meet in November, so the earliest the item could be taken up there is December.
Resident Eileen Grasso, who lives on Shore Road in Old Greenwich, said she’s happy the town is looking at ways to rectify the problem, but she said there needs to be intervention right now to stop the cat population from growing. She said Animal Control has trapped cats, but it’s been “very sporadic.”
“We’re sort of being held hostage to this process,” she said. “It’s a two-pronged effort because we need to intervene now quickly and most importantly we need to do it completely. Picking up one or two cats, or two or three kittens that can be easily adopted, is not effective if you don’t get the entire population.”
Camillo said “the process is what it is,” and it’s up to the RTM to decide how quickly they want to approve an ordinance when they finally get draft language in front of them.
The entire draft ordinance can be viewed in last week’s agenda packet.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: shopskm