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DRAFT <br /> <br /> <br />Pilots of this kind would depart from current practices. Animal Services continues to treat most <br />cat complaints from a regulatory standpoint— that is, as public nuisances that cat owners or <br />keepers must abate to avoid enforcement actions. With the exception of cases involving public <br />health or animal suffering, Animal Services has not trapped cats for residents since 2010. <br />Instead, Animal Services makes traps available to residents to use on their own (requiring only <br />a deposit for the cost of the trap in the event it is damaged or not returned). <br />In addition, pilot programs may include or be supplemented by additional or enhanced <br />information about preventing and dealing with loosely affiliated and feral cats as an individual <br />resident and/or neighborhood development. This is an area that begs for attention and that may <br />be addressed using modern media as well as more traditional canvassing and face-to-face <br />contact. Presently, little information of this kind is readily available. By comparison, Animal <br />Services currently has a dedicated webpage for coyotes and an entire segment of its website <br />dedicated to wildlife. <br />Alternative forms of intervention in specific situations involving free-roaming cats need to be <br />explored and evaluated in an open-minded manner. The reason that they are part of this plan is <br />that they are indispensable to developing effective and acceptable methods for managing free- <br />roaming cats. Their evaluation should be evidence-based, with due consideration of their fit <br />with the needs and wants of residents. Ideally, they will lead to new and proven ways of <br />managing free-roaming cats that can subsequently be used on a more regular basis throughout <br />Orange County. <br />Finally, as pilot programs evolve, there may be need for legal review of existing animal <br />ordinances and consideration of policy changes by elected officials. These needs may arise <br />from efforts to sterilize and return loosely affiliated cats to specific places in the county. Staff <br />will be attentive to these needs and the underlying issues during the latter part of the plan when <br />pilot programs are developed, implemented, and evaluated. <br /> <br />5. Resources <br />It is not reasonable to expect a single agency or organization to be solely responsibility for <br />managing free-roaming cats in any community or jurisdiction. The sheer number of free- <br />roaming cats makes this a problem that is bigger than Animal Services can handle alone in