Save Brevard County's Landmark Trap-Neuter-Return Law

Update: At a hearing yesterday, Brevard County Commissioners held off on any decisions about the county’s feral cat ordinance and did not lift the moratorium on registrations of feral cat colonies. Commissioners directed county staff to develop recommendations for ordinance amendments.

Commissioners heard the sensible recommendations proposed by the Animal Advisory Board based on the AAB’s months of study, and they heard of positive progress that local animal organizations and Animal Services have made since last summer. Alley Cat Allies testified about our engagement with Animal Services to improve the county’s response to feral cats.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their County Commissioners on this issue. Alley Cat Allies will continue to stay involved in Brevard County, and we will let you know when to contact your Commissioners again!

Original Issue:
For more than a decade, humanely caring for cats in Brevard County has been encouraged by one of this country’s earliest Trap-Neuter-Return ordinances. But this groundbreaking local law is now in jeopardy—and so are the cats. In an abrupt move, your county commissioners suspended colony registration and are considering new restrictions that will diminish the lifesaving impact of this law. We need your help to let them know this is the wrong move.

Alley Cat Allies and local Trap-Neuter-Return organizations have worked to improve the Brevard County community since 1999, when we partnered with Animal Services to help pass the County’s Trap-Neuter-Return ordinance. Thanks to this ordinance, thousands of cats have been neutered, vaccinated, and returned to their homes outdoors instead of being killed in shelters, benefiting both the cats and the community at large.

Now, Brevard County has, with no forewarning, stopped accepting new registrations of feral cat colonies. And—to make matters worse—if additional restrictions pass, it will severely limit the ability of caregivers to register colonies going forward, dealing a serious blow to cat care in Brevard. This would be a devastating reversal for a community that served as a model for Trap-Neuter-Return. Moreover, this change would cause taxpayers to shoulder additional, increased animal control costs.

Don’t let your county turn back the clock on humane care. Contact your county commissioners now and ask them to end the suspension of Trap-Neuter-Return colony registration and to preserve the ordinance as-is.

Consider taking action on other issues.