Cull call as ‘feral cats run amok’

Council officials have been urged to conduct “a cat cull” after claims were made that two housing estates in Co Cork were infested with feral moggies.

The council’s director of environment Louis Duffy is to discuss with Cork County Council’s chief veterinary officer what can be done to tackle the issue after a councillor said that one of the estates was overrun with nearly 100 “wild” cats.

Cllr Frank O’Flynn said the two estates he was concerned about were in North Cork, one in quite a large village.

He said a cull, or at minimum a neutering programme, was needed to combat the growing problem.

“There are feral cats running amok all over one estate in particular, although I’ve had complaints from another estate as well,” said Cllr O’Flynn.

“There’s a health issue with the amount of cat litter in children’s play areas.

“Old people can’t get to sleep at night because of the constant noise coming from tomcats.”

Cllr O’Flynn said it was his understanding someone had taken it upon themselves to feed the cats and, as a result, they had bred out of control.

He said this might be a well-meaning measure by that person but it had resulted in an explosion in the cat population, many of which were wild.

“People living in these housing estates are crying out for help.

“We have to do something about it,” he told colleagues attending a meeting of the council’s Northern Division in Mallow.

Mr Duffy, who heads the environment directorate, said he would examine Cllr O’Flynn’s concerns with the local authority’s senior veterinary officer with a view to seeing what could be done.

In reply to a question from Cllr O’Flynn, Mr Duffy said he wasn’t aware of any legislation which capped the number of cats a person can have but would look into it.

The county council, meanwhile, operates a dog warden service to impound stray dogs but does not have a similar service to deal with non-domesticated cats.