Animal lovers in Lacon, Illinois are fighting tooth and claw against a proposed ordinance to round up stray cats and euthanize them.
A few town residents and council members complained about stray cats in the area, so the town put together a plan that would catch and kill any cats not "properly tagged with an identification tag" and without "evidence of ownership," according to pjstar.com.
"I don't want other people's cats on my property," said Alderman Jack Rebholz.
But officials admitted that they didn't know what actually defined "proper identification."
Animal welfare activists warned the council that there is a difference between a feral cat and an abandoned stray, as the stray can be saved and prepared for adoption. They also fear that such an ordinance would result in killing some residents' beloved companions.
"What's going to happen is that you're not going to be catching feral cats," said Sherri Coghill, who runs a no-kill shelter, according to pjstar.com. "I would say 75 percent of them are going to be somebody's pets."
Mayor Bob Weber said the council will consult other communities and national animal-welfare organizations before making a decision.
Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.
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