Prince George’s County Passes Ordinance Protecting Cats

From Alley Cat Allies:

November 21 2019

Alley Cat Allies Congratulates Prince George’s County for Ordinance Protecting Cats
County Embraces Mainstream Trap-Neuter-Return Policy

UPPER MARLBORO, Md.- Alley Cat Allies congratulates Prince George’s County, Maryland, for unanimously passing an ordinance on November 19 that endorses county use of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), the mainstream approach that effectively and humanely addresses community cat populations.

“We’re thrilled that Prince George’s County is joining thousands of other communities across the country who value, respect and protect the cats who live among us by embracing TNR,” said Becky Robinson, president and founder of Alley Cat Allies.

Prince George’s County becomes the latest county in Maryland to embrace TNR. Alley Cat Allies worked closely on the ordinance for many months with advocates and elected officials in Prince George’s County to ensure it takes the right steps to protect cats from being killed and reflect the humane values of county residents.

Through TNR, cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, and vaccinated. The tip of one ear is painlessly removed to indicate the cats are part of a TNR program. They are then returned to their outdoor homes where they live and thrive, ending the cycle of producing new litters of kittens.

TNR is good public policy. It reduces animal shelter intake, “euthanasia” numbers and calls to animal control agencies, which saves tax dollars. Hundreds of communities have adopted official TNR ordinances and policies, and thousands more conduct grassroots, volunteer-led TNR programs. Those numbers continue to grow because the programs have proven to be successful in a wide variety of environments.

This press release was produced by Alley Cat Allies. The views expressed here are the author’s own.