This is Outrageous! Town Decides To Put A Bounty On Cats

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One town in Iowa is setting up the idea of putting a "bounty" of five dollars for each stray or feral cat caught. Supposedly the town is over-run by strays and ferals...but is this the answer? Pet owners in general are outraged, and for any jerk who wants to get greedy by hauling in any cat that doesn't clearly have any tags or collars, in other words cats that are actually pets could become in my opinion victims of this stupid scheme as well. Here's the CNN article and there is also a video. (Quote) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Attention, cat haters: There's money to be made in Randolph, Iowa, which is offering a $5 bounty for each feral feline turned in -- alive. Those not claimed will be destroyed. Mayor Vance Trively says that the southwest Iowa town of 200 people is being overrun by dozens of feral cats and needed to do something. "You can't just let them keep multiplying in town," Trively said Tuesday. Video Watch stray cats stroll through yards » Town officials approved the bounty after receiving numerous complaints, ranging from a cat attacking a small dog to a dozen cats showing up at the bowl when a resident tried to feed his own cat. "One guy threatened to shoot all of them. I told him he couldn't do that in town. Other people talk about poisoning them, but you can't do that in town," Trively said. Under the new policy, stray cats without collars will be taken to a veterinarian in the nearby town of Sidney -- Randolph has no vet clinic -- where they'll be kept "for a time for people to claim them," the mayor said. If no one does, they'll be euthanized and buried. John Snyder of the Humane Society of the United States said he doesn't have a problem with humanely killing a stray cat, but said the money spent on the bounty and the vet expenses would be better spent hiring someone who knows what he or she is doing. "I'm concerned about children, people trying to capture these cats that don't have knowledge of what they're doing, being scratched or injured or inhumanely handling these cats for five bucks. Is it worth it?" The mayor said several suggestions have been made, including neutering, trapping and asking for donations. advertisement "You couldn't get a donation to save a cat in this town for the life of them," Trively said. Since the bounty went into effect March 1, two cats -- one of them pregnant -- have been turned in...." Here's the article http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/12/cat.bounty.ap/index.html In my opinion there are other and better alternatives which is ike many pet rescuers have and that is to trap, neuter(or spay) and release thus preventing more litters of kittens to be born..In the back of my mind...if one town thinks of doing this, how long will it be before other "geniuses" get the same idea all over. As I mention what is in the back of my mind are the pet cats that could accidentally rounded up as well whose owners let them out of their homes and don't have collars or tags...My cats for instance while indoor cats have never worn collars since I never let them out Anyone else think this is a dumb idea? Here's the video: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/12/cat.bounty.ap/index.html#cnnSTCVideo