Politics & Government

Does Pinellas Have a Feral Cat, Stray Dog Problem?

What do you think, Dunedin? What is the best way to deal with feral cats and stray dogs in Pinellas County?

Pinellas County Commissioners Tuesday voted against a mandatory spay/neuter policy for dogs and cats in a favor of a pilot program still aimed at reducing the number of stray dogs and feral cats. 

According to the Tampa Bay Times, commissioners decided on a program that charges more for licenses for unsterilized animals. The proposal would also sterilize wandering animals at the owner's expense if the animal was found wandering loose on multiple occasions, the Times reported. 

"
In the first six months of this year, Animal Services took in 2,455 dogs and 3,927 cats. Of those, 563 dogs and 231 cats were adopted out of the shelter; 808 dogs and 2,403 cats were euthanized," according to the Times' report

By the Numbers (Info from County Documents)

  • There are 92,367 - 172,687 free roaming cats in Pinellas
  • Zero rabies cases were reported in Pinellas County in 2012. A 10-year high was in 2004 where nine cases were reported. 
  • More than 90,000 animals were license in Pinellas in 2012, including more than 60,000 dogs and more than 30,000 cats. 
  • On average, there are 15 open dangerous dog investigations in Pinellas. Eight dogs are currently declared dangerous in Pinellas at this time. 
  • In 2012 more than 2,000 bites were reported in Pinellas. Of those, more than 500 were from dogs and more than 1,000 were cat bites. 
  • There were slightly less than 15,000 animal impounds in 2012. 60 percent of those impounds were cats, 35 percent dogs. 
  • Average daily census a Pinellas kennels is between 300-400. Average daily impounds, 45. 
To read the rest of the Times' report, click here

What do you think, Dunedin? What is the best way to deal with feral cats and stray dogs in Pinellas County?


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