Sturgeon County has partnered with two regional animal organizations to get more stray cats and dogs off its streets.
Sturgeon County council voted 5-2 (councillors Deanna Stang and Neal Comeau opposed) on Dec. 13 to spend $21,800 to sign a contract with the Edmonton Humane Society and Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) to manage stray cats and dogs.
The vote stemmed from a request by Coun. Jason Berry made in October for information on sheltering services for stray cats and dogs in the county.
Speaking Dec. 13, Stang said the county was being used as a dumping ground for unwanted pets from nearby cities.
Sturgeon County has received 35 complaints about stray cats and 224 about stray dogs this year as of October 31, a report to council showed. While the county has sent many of these animals to the Edmonton Humane Society in the past, that group was now struggling to find the money to support those animals.
County community services director Christine Wells said council could spend $10,000 to have various veterinarian and animal rescues shelter and provide medical care to stray cats and dogs on a case-by-case basis. Council could also sign a formal deal with the Humane Society and SCARS. A $21,800 contract would pay for kennel space and medical care, while a $29,300 contract would cover those services plus a population-controlling trap-neuter-return program for 30 feral cats.
While Berry initially proposed the $29,300 option, council voted it down 2-5 (Berry and Coun. Matthew McLennan in favour). Coun. Kristin Toms said her research suggested that trap-neuter-return programs needed to treat hundreds of animals before they proved effective at population control, and the one proposed here would only affect 30. McLennan then proposed the $21,800 option, which passed.
