Proposed Feral Cat Ordinance Withdrawn From Consideration: Camillo

GREENWICH, CT — After several months of debate and planning, a proposed ordinance aimed at controlling feral cat populations in town has been withdrawn from consideration.

The Representative Town Meeting was set to examine the ordinance for the first time on Monday night, but First Selectman Fred Camillo announced last Friday in his weekly "Ask The First Selectman" segment with Tony Savino on WGCH that he pulled the ordinance because it wouldn't garner enough support.

"Several RTM members called me up and it did not pass a couple of committees. I don't want to put anybody through any unnecessary time tortures when it's just not going to pass," Camillo said. "This was not something the Board of Selectmen initiated. People came to us. We did our job and debated it and discussed it and passed it on to them. It's up to the RTM if they want to take it or not."

The issue was first brought up to the Board of Selectmen in August, as residents complained about feral cats, notably in Old Greenwich, ruining property and causing overpopulation. Camillo has said it's an issue seen all over town, not just in Old Greenwich.

The proposed ordinance, which also covered stray cats, called for keepers of feral cats within Greenwich to register with the town's animal control officer within one year of the adoption of the ordinance.

Keepers would have then been responsible for caring for the cats "so as not to cause any nuisance or public health hazard."

Notably, the ordinance stated that "the animal control officer, in her discretion, as deemed necessary or advisable, may impound any feral cat and/or employ the TNR-V protocol for any feral cat."

The ordinance defines TNR-V as Trap, Neuter, Release, Vaccinate, and it is "a method of humanely trapping feral cats for the purpose of sterilizing them, vaccinating them against rabies, and then returning them to their colonies."

Camillo said one of the RTM committees that discussed the ordinance thought it was "not in legal order."

Greenwich Animal Control Officer Suzanne Carlin has said her office has made strides in fixing the problem and trapping cats, but she noted in October that having an ordinance on the books would be helpful.

"I support what the animal control officer has stated on this, but at the end of the day, that's why you have different branches of government. The president doesn't get everything he wants and the governor certainly doesn't and mayors and first selectmen don't," Camillo said. "I think the most important thing here to remember is to fix the problem, and we're trying to fix the problem."

Camillo said he has reached out to Greenwich's delegation to Hartford and has met with state Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36) and state Rep.-elect Tina Courpas (R-149) about possible legislation at the state level.

"There are going to be some things the town is looking to have discussed at the legislature, and likewise they'll come to us and tell us what they're doing up there so we're aware of it," Camillo said. "This may be one of those issues."

Camillo also noted that he's spoken to organizations around the state that could help place feral cats in places like farms and barns.