Published in the Delaware State News on August 18, 2018
Delaware is about to take a positive step by passing a bill to save untold numbers of cats. Now awaiting the governor’s signature, H.B. 235 would support Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), the only humane and effective approach for unowned, outdoor cat populations.
Through TNR, cats are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, the tip of their ear is painlessly removed, and they return to their outdoor homes. TNR reduces shelter intake, the number of cats killed, and calls to animal services, all of which save taxpayer dollars.
Shockingly, some people think it’s more humane to kill a cat than to let her live in her outdoor home. But Americans are compassionate and reject such killing.
In a 2017 Harris Poll, 84 percent of Americans said they prefer their community use tax dollars for sterilization instead of bringing cats found outdoors into shelters to be killed.
In a letter to the governor on Aug. 4, PETA tries to scare us by bringing up rabies. But no one has caught rabies from a cat in the U.S. since 1975. Gov. Carney should ignore such distractions. By signing this bill, he will establish one of the most humane state policies for cats in the entire country.
Becky Robinson
Bethesda, Md.