Posted on 12/13/2022 6:04:55 AM PST by Red Badger
WETUMPKA, Ala. – Two women are scheduled to stand trial in an Alabama city court where they’re accused of committing misdemeanors in their efforts to feed and trap stray cats.
Mary Alston, 60, and Beverly Roberts, 84, were arrested and taken to jail by police in Wetumpka over the summer. The police chief said the women had previously been warned not to feed stray animals.
A trial was set for Tuesday morning in Wetumpka Municipal Court. Both women, who were arrested on public property, face misdemeanor counts of criminal trespassing, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. Roberts was also charged with disorderly conduct, while Alston faced a charge of interfering with government operations.
Terry Luck, an attorney for one of the women, said they were performing a public service by trapping stray cats and having them neutered and spayed.
“There were plenty of other ways this could have been addressed without these ladies being arrested and taken to jail,” Luck said.
Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton said feeding the cats had created a nuisance because it attracts more animals to the area. He said both women had been “repeatedly” warned to stop prior to being arrested.
The prosecutor assigned to the case, Brad Ekdahl, said he's aware the arrests have attracted attention beyond Wetumpka, a city of 7,200 people that's located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery.
“I think the best approach is to present the evidence in a fair and impartial manner and allow the judge to render a verdict,” Ekdahl said.
This happened in north Texas a few years ago. Guy was arrested for feeding cats...Next day over a thousand people showed up to help him.
Several strange cat experiences..
Recently, a guy living in a rural area shot a cat that was in his yard in a rural area.
Ends up the cat belonged to a neighbor who went searching for it, found it dead and buried it.
Then the neighbor called PITA. They came, dug up the cat, found it was shot and called police.
The guy was arrested and was fined $30,000 and possible jail for cruelty to animals. Out on bail now pending hearing.
Another situation, a friend of mine had a sand box in his yard for his three young children to play. The neighbor had 20+ cats running loose and they used my friend’s children’s sandbox as a litter box.
He mixed a can of tuna with antifreeze and killed all the cats. Animals cruelty people showed up, but could prove nothing as all the evidence was gone except for lots of dead cats that he threw back into the cat owner’s yard.
Pennsylvania has a law that it is illegal to feed stray cats, and if you do, you are liable for any damage they cause. That includes medical bills from cat scratches on children.
Sorry for bad flow. Was interrupted while typing.
When I first moved to NH I lived in a condo complex/residential area that had a lot of stray cats in the vicinity.
The single 30 something woman next door used to feed them.
Sometimes there would ten or more on the deck/patio next to our unit. She said one of the females had kittens under the deck the year before.
Apparently, some had at one time been someones pet. The people moved away and just let the cats go outside.
F'd UP!!
Article says they were also trapping the cats. That probably means they were taking the cats to a clinic for spay or neuter. That provides a service to the community, preventing them from multiplying.
It’s the nitwits who dump pets that cause the problem.
I’d much rather see a feral cat in the yard than a squirrel, mole, rat or other rodent.
Maybe they could spay and neuter squirrels?
—> That provides a service to the community, preventing them from multiplying.
Complete service is to euthanize them, sadly.
TNR(Trap Neuter Release) is the way to help with the feral cat population. In my area the tip of the right ear is clipped off so if they are trapped in the future they are instantly released.
Small town cops making a big deal out of nothing.
People here idolize rural areas but crap like this happens in Mayberry...too many Barney Fifes trying to make felonies out of nothing. They got nothing else to do.
Beyond stupid.
Seems like something should be done to discourage this type of behavior by the town and those officials who arrested these ladies and those who authorized the arrest.
We have plenty of stray cats in this part pf Phoenix. No roof rats though. I call that a win.
According to Dr. Laura, cats in Phoenix are ‘Coyote Food’..................
People feed and at time trap strays all the time here.
I thought that was normal cat-lady behavior.
Police in Wetumpka must not have much to do with their time.
There were many other ways to deal with the cats going into his sandbox. Like a cover unless the kids were playing in it. Like calling a local cat rescue group to help out, instead of subjecting those poor cats to a miserable death. I know I hope he has a very miserable death himself. He sounds like a moron.
I moved to Appalachia in 1991. There were lots of stray dogs and cats. Lots of road kill.
Then the county turned their shelter into a No Kill Humane Shelter.
Now I NEVER see a stray dog or cat. And no more stray cats show up.
There are packs of coyotes south of South Mountain down by Riggs Road.
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