Feral Cat Control Using 'TNR' Under Consideration In Freehold

FREEHOLD, NJ — The Borough Council is considering a plan to institute a TNR (trap, neuter and release) pilot program to help control the feral cat population here. A plan has not been agreed upon as yet, borough officials said.

Business Administrator Stephen J. Gallo said the borough would "initially . . seek to run a pilot program for at least a year," if the plan goes ahead.

"All of these actions are subject to the approval by the appropriate governing body," Gallo said.

The plan has not been agreed upon yet, he said. At this point, the Borough Council has only agreed, at its Sept. 19 meeting, to draft an ordinance for consideration, Gallo added.

If approved, the town will seek professionals in the area of feral cat control to administer the program.

"We will solicit proposals in accordance with the New Jersey Public Contracts Law for the TNR services," Gallo said in a statement, should the plan be approved.

The borough would then budget funds for the program, he added.

The Monmouth County SPCA Executive Director Ross Licitra appeared before the council to urge adoption of a TNR program. His agency, he said, "is the state leader in New Jersey in TNR."

"Doing nothing is not an option," he told the council.

He noted that no one at the meeting from the public was a "naysayer" - people want to be humane, he said.

He presented lots of statistics about feral cat breeding - and the success of TNR - to the council.

Licitra said a feral cat usually lives for three years. An un-spayed female might give birth to 12 kittens a year. Those kittens will usually be 60 percent female. They then can give birth in "year one" to 84 kittens, he said. The numbers then multiply - 50 of the 84 grown cats can produce 600 kittens. By years three and four you could eventually have 31,000 cats. And he said even if 90 percent don't survive, there would still be over 3,000 remaining feral cats.

The concept of trapping and then euthanizing cats is not cost effective or humane, Licitra added. Reducing the numbers of new kittens is the best way to go.

With a trap, neuter and release, the borough "Can do the right thing. It's the humane thing, it's the moral thing," Licitra said.

Residents such as Andrea Burica have urged the council to make this move and she said last week she was happy with the decision to study it - and hopes it is approved and becomes permanent.

Burica has seen her own efforts to do this successfully reduce the stray cat population behind the restaurants on Main Street from 30 cats to now two to three cats, she said.

Licitra said his agency will make a presentation to the council to bid on a TNR program for the borough should there by action to institute a program.

Under programs he already has established in the county, feral cats are trapped, neutered and vaccinated, which will helps address concerns about rabies spread from wild animals.

Once they are returned to their colonies, the cats will need to be fed.

Established TNR programs have volunteers who go through a rigorous screening process to become a colony caregiver, Licitra said. They will feed the cats and follow certain rules of the program.

The borough has an ordinance banning the feeding of wildlife and some residents are concerned about being sanctioned if they feed cats.

But Gallo said the prohibition on feeding wildlife is mandated by the state as part of the New Jersey storm water regulations. "Exceptions can be made for any approved, managed feral cat colony," he said.

He said that "any qualified person or organization can apply to be a colony manager and coordinate with the service provider."

Licitra noted that the feral cat problem will never be completely solved but it can be controlled.

And there are some great success stories with feral colonies.

Licitra, apart from his leadership of the SPCA, is also a Monmouth County Commissioner and served a long career in law enforcement with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and with West Long Branch police department.

He said the Monmouth County Landfill has nicely maintained buffers and is a pleasant home to an established feral cat colony with acres to roam - and to work.

The cats are a natural for controlling the rodent population. "That means we use less chemicals. It helps the environment," he said.

This article has been updated to clarify that a pilot program is under consideration.