Editorial
The problem is Sheriff Grady Judd is an asshole and is power-hungry. But Judd refuses to answer any questions about his animal services division, why?
There is a better way than killing – better for cats and better for Polk County.
Judd is also selling the dead cats, why is it because of the money or there is no room in the county dump next to the animal services buildings?
Cat cadavers go to Bio Corporation (a company that provides cadavers/specimens to educational institutions).
Bio Corporation pays $10 per cat cadaver to the PCSO. Which means thousands of dollars in the coffers of the PCSO.
Excerpt from FL Statute 823.15(1) Uncontrolled breeding results in the birth of many more puppies and kittens than are needed to provide pet animals to new owners or to replace pet animals that have died or become lost. This leads to many dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens being unwanted, becoming strays and suffering privation and death, being impounded and destroyed at great expense to the community, and constituting a public nuisance and public health hazard. It is therefore declared to be the public policy of the state that every feasible means be used to reduce the incidence of birth of unneeded and unwanted puppies and kittens. Determining which programs result in improved adoption rates and in reduced euthanasia rates for animals in shelters and animal control agencies is crucial to this effort.
Every feasible means be used to reduce the incidence of birth of unneeded and unwanted puppies and kittens.
But Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and his staff refuse to follow the law but they were happy to email the Lakeland Gazette the Florida Statute.
The FL Statute 823.15 even talks about Trapped, Neutered, Released (TNR) but Capt. Steven Horstman stated to the Lakeland Gazette that Polk County Animal Services will “Never have a TNR Program”.
But the answer is this……..
Trap-Neuter-Return, or TNR for short, is the only humane and effective approach to addressing outdoor cat populations.
Through TNR, community cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped for identification, and returned to their outdoor homes to live out their lives.
TNR is sound public policy. Scientific studies show that it effectively and humanely addresses the community cat population, reduces shelter intake and killing, and reduces calls to animal services, which saves taxpayer dollars.
Nearly half of the 67 counties in Florida have some sort of TNR program on the books. But not Polk County.
Scientific studies show that TNR ends the breeding cycle, meaning no new kittens are born outdoors while improving the lives and health of community cats. When cats are free from the burden of reproducing, their relationships improve with the people who live near them. And many diseases associated with reproduction, like cancer, are prevented.
Thousands of communities, including many in Florida, have embraced TNR at the grassroots level or as official government policy. It is popular because it works, in rural and urban settings, cold and warm climates, and everywhere in between. Polk County has an opportunity to truly engage with compassionate people in its community to protect cats, reduce outdoor cat populations, and improve neighborhoods countywide.
It’s An Easy Choice
People want to know their county has their back and is committed to forward-thinking, humane standards of care for animals. Polk County has the chance to choose this effective, nonlethal path forward. And it does not have to take the journey alone.
Polk County must realize that the public will never support killing cats en masse, and that any solution must be based on proven science and reflect the values of the community.