Sandra Woodall, a volunteer for the nonprofit San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition, which trains people to do TNR, said such programs are “the only way you’re going to control the cat population.”and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department don’t generally support the tactic, nor do the bird advocates.
The Brazoria County criminal district attorney seemed to think such a program could be considered illegal animal abandonment andThe request inspired state Rep., a Republican from Angleton, about 30 miles south of Pearland, to get involved. Vasut authored what he calls the “cat bill” to clarify that releasing a cat back to where it was trapped should not be considered a misdemeanor under the abandonment statute.
Houston Police Officers Union Executive Director Ray Hunt turned out to be an unexpected advocate who showed up to the Senate committee hearing to support the bill. A staffer found a stray cat outside their office, determined it had no owner and had it neutered, he said. They took care of the cat, which lived around the office for a year until it died.