A Red Deer man is concerned that the number of cat traps is nowhere near enough for the number of loose cats.
Pat Hare has been trapping cats for about five years. During the first couple of years, he relied on the limited supply of city-owned cat traps.
Every year he’d catch four or five wayward or stray cats and turn them in to Alberta Animal Services.
Three years ago, he found the waitlist to use the city-owned traps too long and acquired his own trap.
This year, he trapped his first cat and went to turn it in to Alberta Animal Services, the local animal services contractor. But they informed Hare they wouldn’t accept cats caught in private traps.
“Up until this year or within the last year, they would take any cats that were trapped by private citizens in to Animal Control and try to contact their owners,” said Hare.
“I was told when I brought a cat in there two days ago, and this was the first one I’ve had in there, that if I brought a cat in in a trap that is not leased out by animal control, they would not take it.”
He was told that if another cat came in his trap, Animal Services would not accept it.
“To me that means I shouldn’t be trapping cats because I have nowhere to go with them.”
Duane Thomas with Alberta Animal Services said they haven’t accepted privately trapped cats for a couple of years.
“Under the City of Red Deer cat bylaw, there is a trapping protocol for it all and private cat traps aren’t covered under the bylaw,” said Thomas.
There are 20 city-owned cat traps that people can use.
Hare’s name is now on the waiting list to get a city-owned trap. Thomas said the waiting list always fills up quickly, even before the trap season starts.
“There is always a waiting list before the traps are even released,” said Thomas. “Pretty much all summer long we do have a waiting list.”
Because Animal Services can’t accept cats caught with private traps, they will tell the trapper they have to release them.
Cats can only be trapped during a short time frame — trapping isn’t allowed during cold weather over concern for the cats. The bylaw, passed in 1996, says cats cannot be trapped in the hot sun, and the traps will not be provided if it forecast to be colder than 0C.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com