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Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Miami-Dade sets thousands of stray cats free. Should feeding them be legal?
When a stray cat in a Kendall shopping center happens upon a pile of kibble near a Lowe's parking lot, they often have Virginia Dieppa to thank. At least for now. The 70-year-old retiree delivers for Uber Eats on the side to cover the cost of food for dozens of cats living on the edge of the Lowe's off of Southwest 137th Avenue. She uses a notepad to keep track of the ones she's named: Patches, Pearle, Sox, Midnight, Kee-Nee. The trunk of her car is crammed with water jugs, cat food and donated Pollo Tropical bowls for feeding dishes. While the cats consistently eat up her effort, not everybody is a fan. Dieppa and other volunteer feeders say they've been warned by police that they don't have permission to leave food in the private parking lot. Dieppa said a nearby daycare complained of cat waste. Last week, the Miami-Dade commissioner representing that area of Kendall, Raquel Regalado, filed legislation to ban the feeding of stray animals outside of businesses or in public parks but ultimately revoked it after receiving backlash. 'I was in shock,' Dieppa said of the pushback against feline feeding outside the Lowe's. 'Those cats have been fed for 18 years.' Dieppa's angst captures some of the complications surrounding a growing population of stray cats that is indirectly sanctioned by Miami-Dade's county government. Last year, the county's Animal Services Department released back onto the streets nearly 18,000 stray cats — each of them sterilized after being caught in a county-supplied trap or turned in by a member of the public. While Miami-Dade used to euthanize stray cats, the policy changed in 2012 amid pressure to dramatically boost the survival rate at the shelter. Miami-Dade then launched its 'TNR' program — Trap, Neuter and Return. The number of cats serviced by the program, which vaccinates cats in addition to sterilizing them, has doubled over the last decade. In 2016, about 8,700 cats were released, according to county figures. Last year, Miami-Dade released about 17,800 sterilized cats back onto the streets. Who feeds the cats once the county sets them free? In a statement, Animal Services said street cats are able to fend for themselves. 'Community cats are highly adaptable and naturally equipped to survive outdoors,' the statement said. 'With their strong territorial instincts, they learn to navigate their surroundings, locate food and water sources, and seek out safe shelter.' But the county's unofficial network of cat feeders say their efforts are key to providing a humane existence for the thousands of strays trying to survive without homes. 'One of the cats I'm feeding is missing an eye. One is missing a leg,' said Samuel Muvdi, 25, who tends to a group of cats living in a different Kendall shopping center. 'When I whistle, they all come running.' The question of what to do with homeless cats is controversial. PETA, the animal-rights group, said releasing sterilized feral cats back into the wild can be humane, provided they're fed and monitored for health issues and not at risk of getting hit by cars. Otherwise, the organization's website says, 'allowing feral cats to continue their daily struggle for survival in a hostile environment is not usually a humane option.' Bird deaths are a concern, too. The American Bird Conservancy's agenda includes 'keeping cats indoors,' and it blames 1 billion bird deaths a year on prowling felines. Last week, the friction spiked in Miami-Dade when Regalado introduced legislation to create a $100 fine for people feeding feral cats, dogs and peacocks on public or commercial property. The legislation cited 'unsightly conditions' from the feeding efforts, which the proposed ordinance said can 'attract vermin, clog storm drains, and contribute to pollution in the County's stormwater systems' — a reference to the role that pet waste plays after heavy rains. Regalado said the legislation was designed to 'de-criminalize' feeding operations by giving authorities the option of issuing a fine instead of charging people like Dieppa with trespassing for feeding in places where they're not authorized. But the backlash was sharp enough that Regalado killed the legislation just days after it became public. 'If people want to keep the status quo, the status quo it is,' she said. The proposed ordinance was withdrawn from the agenda of Tuesday's County Commission meeting. In the meantime, the retreat from the potential ban on feeding doesn't fix the friction over the cats Dieppa and other volunteers are feeding around the Kendall Lowe's. A corporate spokesperson for the hardware-store chain was not available for comment this week. A wall near the wooded area where the cats forage now has a yellow sign that says 'DO NOT FEED CATS.' Dieppa said the volunteer feeders have gotten conflicting information, so they're continuing to distribute food during hours when the parking lot isn't busy. They're concerned about the cats not having access to water as the temperature heats up if the volunteers can no longer set out their dishes. 'In the summer, we actually go twice a day to put out water,' said Alicia Carnevale, who also feeds those cats and at one point paid $400 to have several of them sterilized and treated by a vet. 'If we weren't doing this, they would probably die.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
City urges caution after bat handling incidents
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — The City of San Angelo is urging citizens to follow health and safety guidelines after receiving reports of residents, including children, being exposed to rabies while handling dead and grounded bats. According to the City, 'recently a rabies exposure occurred after a child handled a dead bat.' In a separate incident that occurred on Friday, May 2, 'another citizen and her child pet a grounded bat that was infected with rabies.' The City said that in both cases, 'proper medical, health and safety protocol' was followed for those who had come into contact with the animals. Local rescue seeks donations after storm wrecks kennels The City instructed residents to immediately call the Animal Services Department at (325)-657-4224 should anyone come across a grounded or injured bat. It also advised against handling or attempting to move bats 'under any circumstance.' 'The Department of State Health Services reminds us that bats have been increasingly implicated as wildlife reservoirs for variants of rabies virus that have been transmitted to humans,' the City said. 'Bat bites are not always visible; therefore, any close contact with a bat's mouth needs to be carefully evaluated for the need for prophylaxis.' The Texas Department of Health and Human Services lists online potential rabies exposure scenarios through bats, including: A child touches a live or dead bat An adult touches a bat without seeing the part of the body they touched A bat flies into a person and touches bare skin A person steps on a bat with bare feet A person awakens to find a bat in the room with him/her A bat is found near an infant, toddler, or a person who is sensory or mentally challenged A person puts their hand in firewood, brush, a crevice, or a dark space (i.e. a closet), experiences pain, then sees a bat The department stated that, 'if any possible contact between the bat and a person or domestic animal has occurred,' the bat should not be released and a local animal control agency or local law enforcement should be notified 'to arrange for immediate submission of the bat for rabies testing.' The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 'in the U.S., around 4,000 animal rabies cases are reported each year, with more than 90% occurring in wildlife like bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes.' The organization also stated that 'over 4 million Americans report animal bites each year with 800,000 seeking medical attention.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
