From the human health side of things ... just think of all the inept, inexperienced yahoos out trying to wrangle feral cats. The ER and urgent care clinics would be up to their ears in cat bites and lacerations.
The mayor certainly wasn't thinking about the health and safety of his constituents with his idea!

BJ
Columbus, OH

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Apparently they've called off the bounty.

According to a report by TV station, the city council voted to stop the bounty after animal groups convinced them there were other options.

So much for the letter I wrote tonight. Quicker hands ... In any case, this restores my faith in Iowa. I truly do love Iowa. And thanks to Best Friends for joining ACA on this one.

here's the link to the TV report, although I'm sure BF will have a more complete one later.

http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=8015068

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Well, further updates to this story tell the full story. The mayor was not some sort of hard-hearted blockhead out to solve a problem with blunt force, but a man simply trying to find a solution and not knowing a humane one existed. Once he found out about TNR, he and the City Council, and it sounds like the town itself, were more than willing to get the program running ASAP.

I love cats dearly, which is why I support ACA, but to be honest my one interaction with a feral has convinced me these are pussy cats you let the experts handle.

I say kudos to the mayor and all the people of Randolph for listening and joining the TNR revolution.

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Great news! My letter's in the mail anyway... just in case.

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Randolph will be a wonderful place for TNR. Shelters are being constructed, feeding stations established. Moving of cats to appropriate parts of town for habitulation, spaying and neutering begins this week. It is wonderful. Thank you Randolph, David Earlywine and the animal organizations that rallied to make it happen including Animal Protection and Education Charity in Paton IA that has been the leader in TNR in Iowa for years.

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BJ in Ohio doesn't know what they are talking about and really needs to find something else to do.

The organizations that have swarmed to Randolph and are taking control of all aspects will have TNR up and running in a matter of weeks. The health of the townspeople will be much improved with immunized, spay and neutered animals that have people caring for them every day to be sure they are fed and watered from here on out.
To see God, look in to the innocent eyes of an animal. They are perfect expressions of God and should be valued as such.

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Thank goodness! Many thanks to those who stepped up immediately to the powers~that~be in Randolph to put an immediate stop to this act of barbaric proportions.

In this day and age there is absolutely NO reason to implement a bounty on any living creature especially for a trap~kill "solution". We have the knowledge and resources to institute T~N~R programs successfully.

Randolph, Iowa, you are being watched very closely and this should be warning to anyone else that we have the power of numbers to put an end to the neglect, abuse, torture and senseless killing of all animals.

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i'm very glad that they changed their minds to give these kitties a chance of having a decent life.mytwocats

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Thank God. Such bad press - but fortunately the animal community stepped up! Another victory for the animals.

Thanks for letting us know they called off the bounty - I was going to work on my letter today.

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Fabulous news!

I sent emails and I forwarded the story to friends.

It is great that the Mayor has seen the light.

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A mmore humane way to deal with the feral cat population is not to kill them. Trap, Neuter, Release, TNR will keep them from multiplying. Many of these cats were once pets who were abandoned.

Thank you

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