Sumter County next month will begin a program to trap and release feral cats.
The program, expected to reduce the number of stray cats killed in the county shelter, was approved Tuesday by the county board of commissioners.
Based on a similar program in Jacksonville, the county will pick up feral cats, neuter and vaccinate them, notch an ear for identification, then return them to their neighborhoods. If cats are picked up again due to nuisance complaints, they will be released in a rural area.
Existing county policy is to kill feral cats, wild cats that live outside, within 24 hours if they have no chips or other identification.
The policy change comes after animal activists have swarmed county board meetings for the past four months, demanding that the county convert its shelter to no-kill where 90 percent of the animals are saved.
Before the activists started coming to meetings, the county euthanized 40 percent or more of its dogs and cats. For the past two months, the numbers have been much lower.
Last month, 27 animals, or 17 percent, of 157 animals at the shelter were euthanized, including 12 dogs and 14 cats. In October, eight dogs and 21 cats, or 16 percent, of 184 animals received were euthanized.
Commissioner Garry Breeden said feral cat programs are controversial and opposed by some animal groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
But local activists praised the Sumter program.
Celine Petrie, chairwoman of the Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County, visited the Jacksonville program in October with County Administrator Bradley Arnold.
“I never imagined that a (trap and release) program would be ready to go in January,” she said. “It’s a remarkable change in county policy and shows what can be done when people work together.”
Three years ago, the Sumter County became partners with the Humane Society to handle adoptions of animals taken to the county shelter.
Animal activist Karen Taylor and Angie Fox of Lost Pets of The Villages also praised the program.
“That would be a big step and I’m happy to see it,” Taylor said. “I would like to thank you for the better save rates for the past two months.”
Fox also thanked commissioners for approving the trap and release program.
