COOL HEAD AT COUNCIL AVERTS POSSIBLE CAT-ASTROPHE

OSOYOOS TIMES-February 6, 2008

Thankfully there is a voice of reason and moderation on Osoyoos town council.

If Coun. Allan Carswell had not spoken up at a special meeting on Jan. 28 his fellow councillors may have pushed through a bylaw that would allow town bylaw officers to capture and even arbitrarily destroy feral and stray cats.

The proposed bylaw stems from community complaints regarding a property near Peanut Pond where a number of strays and feral cats are reportedly running amok.

It was suggested that the town limit the number of cats people can own to two and that bylaw officers should be able to euthanize cats at their own discretion.

Carswell was not at the regular council meeting on Jan. 21 when the bylaw was first brought up. But, luckily, he did attend the special meeting to re-examine the matter where he said the town should not dictate to people how many pets they can own.

Carswell also said deciding whether or not to euthanize cats deemed a threat to public health and safety should be the call of a veterinarian.

These arguments are rational and helped temper an impulsive drive by other councillors to fix an animal control problem.

Council's original intention to start disposing of cats while placing restrictions on Osoyoos residents comes across as almost authoritarian and reactionary, as if no one really thought about the problems such a measure could bring up.

This thing is a lawsuit waiting to happen, Carswell said at the Jan. 28 special meeting, making reference to the possibility of pets actually belonging to people being wrongfully captured and even destroyed.

If the cat problem near Peanut Pond is as big a deal as the reported complaints make it out to be, something must certainly be done, as much for the residents of the area as for the animals that may be suffering as a result of neglect.

But council and town staff need to take the time to work out the best way to tackle the issue without charging in with questionable solutions.

Carswell is often absent from council meetings due to professional commitments. Based on this issue, it would seem to be in the town's best interest that he was present to temper his fellow councillors more often.