Dear Mr. Mayor
I am compelled to send you this e-mail after reading the article in the Gloucester City News about possible pet limit laws being established in the Borough of Bellmawr.
I am a former resident of Bellmawr, and now reside in Brooklawn. I am also a volunteer, Board Member and foster home for Furrever Friends Rescue & Volunteers, which is a registered New Jersey Non-Profit cat rescue group for South Jersey.
As such, I am currently fighting the pet limit laws in my Borough and have filed an Order to Show Cause with the Superior Court of New Jersey. Pet limit laws are unconstitutional. There have been several other states where they have been fought and overturned – specifically, Creighton v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is my personal cause to do the same in the State of New Jersey.
Please review the Animal Welfare Task Force at: http://www.state.nj.us/animalwelfaretaskforcereport.pdf.
This Task Force was commissioned by the governor, and its report stated that pet limit laws do not work.
As to your over-population of feral cat colonies, the Task Force recommends TNR (Trap, Neuter and Return). Many local rescue groups that would readily assist you with TNR. How are pet limit laws going to help with feral colonies? They will not.
They are out there due to neglectful owners who move and leave their cats behind, get bored with them and let them out of the house. This is also due to their owners’ ignorance in not spaying and neutering.
Why should these defenseless animals be trapped and put to death due to ignorance? If you were to implement TNR in your Borough, the cat colonies would eventually dwindle as they are no longer able to reproduce.
I urge you to reconsider implementing a Pet Limit Ordinance and to please read the Animal Welfare Task Report.
Jennifer Smith, Furrever Friends Rescue and Volunteers FFRV.petfinder.org
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