TNR is A-OK

At a TNR workshop (pictured) and on the streets, Best Friends puts the finishing touches on its Randolph program as other towns take note.

By Michael Rinker, Best Friends staff

Once scorned for its proposed approach to feral cats, the town of Randolph has moved forward to become a model for how local officials, residents and rescues can work together to deal with the problem.

Shelly Kotter, manager of Best Friends’ feral cat program, returned to the small, rural town this week to tie up some loose ends, including trapping a handful of remaining cats, conducting a trap-neuter-return workshop and meeting with representatives from neighboring towns interested in TNR.

“The workshop was wonderful,” she said, adding that about 25 people attended, including officials from towns’ animal control and city council. She said one representative drove four hours to take in the presentation. He was “tickled with the information,” and will try to persuade his town leaders to consider it.

Other attendees had the same idea.

“I saw a lot of commitment in the workshop,” Shelly said. “I’ve never seen so many city officials and government agencies coming forward and wanting to know more. They exchanged contact information... they want to pull something together among themselves.”

Humane alternative

It was Best Friends’ fourth trip to the tiny town, which gained a measure of infamy in March when it offered a $5 bounty for each feral or stray cat turned in.

Mayor Vance Trively suggested the bounty because he didn’t want to see cats poisoned or shot, which are common ways of dealing with nuisance animals in rural communities. He thought euthanasia was a better alternative.

However, he was open-minded about the situation and reconsidered the bounty when Best Friends and other rescue groups proposed a humane alternative, including TNR for feral cats, spay/neuter for family pets and relocation as a last resort for cats living in unsafe areas of town.

Shelly, along with Shannon Riddle, the feral cat program coordinator, made the return trip to get the last of the cats, including kittens who were too young to have been spayed/neutered during the last trip. Jason Watt, of the Best Friends video department, was there to record the week’s activities for use as an educational tool.

The team actually began work on Sunday, talking to residents about problem areas and scouting locations for traps. Jason taped interviews with the mayor and town residents.

Monday’s highlight was the workshop, which was held at The Depot, a local restaurant.

They set the traps on Tuesday, and will pick up the cats early Wednesday morning – Shelly estimates they’ll get about 30. Then it’s off to Hearts United for Animals for surgeries.

After that, and for the rest of the week, there will be more meetings with government officials, and returning the cats to their colonies.

Check back here for coverage of those events.

Photos by Shannon Riddle, Best Friends staff

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