Kelso Council Approves TNR Program, Shifts Animal Control

0:00It's April 8th. This is Vancouver News today, your AI-powered local news. Kelsal City Council just approved a trap-new to return program for stray cats passing it unanimously on Tuesday. This comes after they shot down a contract with the Humane Society for Southwest Washington last month. The change updates City Code to tackle the growing stray population head on. The program skips the old 72-hour hold for cats without tags or microchips. City owners can trap strays, book an appointment at the Humane Society's clinic, get them fixed, and return them same day to the same spot. It's a stray forward way to curb numbers without overwhelming shelters. Council members raise flags on liability, like what if a pet cat dies under anesthesia or gets neutered before an owner breathes it for profit? City Attorney is digging into answers, and one deputy mayor worried about cats spraying in neighborhoods, but they voted yes anyway. Meanwhile, Cowlitz County backed out of its Humane Society deal in February, so stray

1:01dogs from unincorporated areas are housed in kennels near the county jail. They're lining up a new shelter building that needs renovations and could open in six to eight months with help from Longview. Kelsal City Manager plans to team up with the county on shelter solutions, while Longview already locked in a $218,000 contract and its own trap-new to return setup. This shift keeps animal control rolling across the region, without old partnerships holding things back.