Bordentown Township mulls joining effort to control feral cats

By Christopher Sacco
   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — The Bordentown Township Committee is debating whether to join the Burlington County Feral Cat Initiative (BCCI), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to humanely control feral cat populations.
   Currently seven Burlington municipalities have joined. They are Beverly, Lumberton, Shamong, Southampton, Springfield, Tabernacle and Woodland.
   Dr. Gordon Stull, the head representative for BCCI, contacted Bordentown Committeeman Jason Medina inquiring if the township would be interested in joining.
   Funding for the program comes mostly in the form of donations and grants from companies, but the money required to start the program varies depending on the number of feral cats in the population and the size of the participating municipality. All municipalities interested in joining are put on a waiting list until they receive the proper funding.
   In addition to funding concerns, Bordentown would be required to pass an ordinance that permits people in the community to legally care for feral cats.
   At Sept. 13’s Township Committee meeting, Mr. Medina supplied a sample of Tabernacle’s friendly-cat ordinance to the members of the committee to see if they would be interested in adopting something similar.
   Committeeman Mike Dauber had concerns about the ordinance and questioned whether passing it would relieve residents of their responsibility to register cats.
   Mr. Medina said residents would still be held accountable for improving the feral cat situation.
   ”Basically the representative from the initiative would reach out to those caregivers and give them training,” he said in response.
   The most recent municipality to join BCCI was Springfield and its Deputy Mayor Peter Sobotka said that for any town looking to join the most difficult issue will always be funding.
   Springfield is expected to get a $10,000 grant from PetSmart to cover its startup costs. Mr. Sobotka said he anticipates its arrival in the near future.
   Bordentown Committeeman Medina said that it’s time Bordentown took the steps necessary to get on BCCI’s waiting list.
   ”Given the conversations we’ve had in the past (about Bordentown’s feral cats), I think this is a good opportunity to get involved with an initiative that’s been proven to be effective throughout the state and the only humane way to deal with the feral cat population,” he said.
   The tentative date for Dr. Stull to present the program to the Bordentown Township Committee is Monday, Sept. 27, at its regularly scheduled meeting.