Walmart taking steps to eliminate cat problem (updated)
Update — According to representatives from the Dubois County Humane Society, Walmart has reached out to them to work out a solution for the cats located behind the Jasper store.
Walmart reached out to the humane society Tuesday, “and we are trying to work on a short term and long term humane and safe solution. We still are drawing up a plan, but we hope to have something accomplished this week,” a spokesperson for the humane society said.
Walmart officials also admitted they contacted the Jasper Police Department for assistance last week after the store manager was threatened. According to Anne Hatfield, Director of Communications for Walmart, the manager had been threatened by individuals who felt she was responsible for the store’s stance towards the cats.
“The safety of the store manager was being threatened. And this goes to another one of the inaccuracies out there – falsely claiming that the store manager made a decision not feed the cats,” Hatfield said in an email. “That is not true and not a decision that a store manager can make. Like I mentioned before, this is a health and safety issue and we must abide by the law.”
Original story:
The Jasper Walmart is taking steps to find a solution for the cat colony located behind the store.
After a long-time caretaker of the cats known as Priscilla was asked to stop feeding them last month, the company is attempting to find a solution to the cat colony.
Walmart Director of Communication Anne Hatfield stated in an interview today that Walmart’s policy has never changed in regards to the cats. According to Hatfield, Walmart has to abide by state and local laws regarding sanitation and safety in its stores. “I know that someone was on the property the other night feeding the cats,” she explained. “It isn’t legal for them to do that. It is called open dumping and it is illegal to put out food or any substance. Walmart corporate policy is to adhere to all local, county, state and federal laws. Safety is our top priority.”
She explained that the population has grown to a point that Walmart officials are concerned about their customers and their children. “The feeding is attracting other animals,” Hatfield said.
Hatfield stated she would like those individuals interested in the outcome for the cats to come forward with ideas for solutions. “We are working to see if that is a viable solution,” Hatfield said. “We are working with animal groups to determine the proper procedure for that. If there are people in the community who want these cats, we are trying to see if that is a possible solution. That would be wonderful.”
“There is a lot of misinformation being spread by individuals in the community,” she said. “Like that this thing started as the personal position of the store manager. That is simply not true. The whole thing is being framed that we don’t want to help these cats and that’s not the case at all. We are doing our best to provide a safe, permanent home for these cats while running a business and ensuring our customers and employees are safe.”
Hatfield reiterated the corporation has reached out to many organizations in the state and region to find a safe resolution. “We want to make sure the cats end up in a safe place,” she said. “The store parking lot is not a safe place for the cats.”
Officers with the Jasper Police Department were posted in the store parking lot over the holiday weekend.
According to Jasper Police Department Chief Michael Bennett, store officials contacted the department over the weekend seeking assistance from off-duty officers to help with the safety of the area. “The management of the Jasper Walmart offered to pay for some of our officers to be on the property during their off-duty time,” Bennett explained. “Are involvement is simply to help keep the peace. We are there to just make sure everyone involved is safe. The officers there are off-duty officers and Walmart is paying them for their presence there.”
The company issued a statement on their local Facebook Page regarding the store’s efforts. “The health and safety of our customers and associates is paramount. The cats’ presence in a busy parking lot represents a hazard for the cats, and a health and safety risk for our customers, their children, and our associates. In addition, the food is attracting other wild animals, which heighten the health and safety risks to our customers and associates who are using the parking lot.”
Unfortunately, according to the Dubois County Humane Society, removing the cats isn’t necessarily a solution to the problem. “What happens after a stable colony is removed, is more cats come to take their place,” a spokesperson for the Dubois County Humane Society explained, “which seems to be happening. There a a lot of new ones up there.”
The humane society had been working with Priscilla in spaying and neutering cats to stabilize the colony. This is considered a long term solution in which the colony will die out over a period of years as the cats can’t reproduce to continue to grow the colony.
Those cats that have been spayed or neutered are then ear-tipped for easy identification in the future. They are also vaccinated for rabies.
This is one of the few ways to control the colony due to most cats being unfit as a pet if they have been feral the first six months of their lives.
Through the efforts of Priscilla and the Dubois County Humane Society, 17 cats have been spayed or neutered so far. According to the humane society, this is just part of about 100 cats that have been spayed or neutered around the county in the past year.
Here is a statement from Walmart’s local Facebook page.
Walmart is working with local authorities and animal welfare organization to identify a safe home for the feral cats, which is not in a busy parking lot. To date, we have reached out to 42 shelters, in multiple states, unfortunately, all of the shelters or groups we have spoken with will only take animals which they deem “adoptable”. The cats are not adoptable because there can be no assurances that they are safe to be around and that they are not carriers of disease. We want to be part of the solution to identify a more suitable location for these animals, if anyone in the community has suggestions for a safe new home for the cats; we encourage you to please call our Customer hotline at 1-800-WALMART.
Why is Walmart Doing This?
The health and safety of our customers and associates is paramount. The cats’ presence in a busy parking lot represents a hazard for the cats, and a health and safety risk for our customers, their children, and our associates. In addition, the food is attracting other wild animals, which heighten the health and safety risks to our customers and associates who are using the parking lot.
What is Walmart Doing?
Our goal remains to remove the feral cats using the safest and most humane means. We continue to work with local authorities and animal welfare organizations to handle this matter in the appropriate way.
Who Made This Decision?
We pride ourselves on providing our management and associates teams autonomy to tailor our stores to their communities; however, in this matter, store management does not have the discretion to allow the feral cats to remain on our property. Walmart is responsible for the health and safety of our customers and associates in the parking lot and inside our store.
How Many Feral Cats?
It is estimated there are 15 to 50 feral cats.
A group of new volunteers, Save the Jasper Indiana Walmart Cats, has stepped forward to assist Priscilla in her efforts to feed the cats, according to posts on the group’s Facebook page.
I am an ardent cat lover and have been owned by many, many rescue cats over the years. My heart goes out to these cats and the people like Priscilla and her group in trying to make their feline lives better. But please, don’t demonize Walmart for trying to do the right thing. A busy retail parking lot is no place for a small animal to live. And many adults (including me) and children whose first instinct is to try to “pet the kitty” are in danger of being bitten by a frightened, feral animal that has no reason to love or trust people. Any doctor or vet will tell you that cat bites can be quite serious, and a frightened cat can do an amazing amount of damage trying to “protect” itself from danger – real or imagined.
Instead of criticizing Walmart for trying to deal with a situation that was not of their making, consider how those cats ended up there. It’s not too hard to imagine that someone that no longer wanted (or was no longer able to care for) their cat deciding that dumping the cat in a busy retail parking lot would lead to someone taking pity on the cat and taking it home with them. As wrong as this thinking might be, it happens quite frequently. And the cats that are not rescued are forced to survive by finding food where they can and do what cats do (have kittens).
So please don’t judge Walmart management too harshly if they exhausted all humane methods of dealing with this situation as being impractical in the long run. If the people who were truely responsible for this situation had been responsible pet owners, Walmart would not have been left to deal with it to protect their customers and associates, and the lives of these innocent animals. Responsible pet parents spay and neuter their pets as part of their pet’s regular health care. Truely caring people who must part with their pets do so by finding them new homes or taking them to no-kill shelters where they can be cared for until found by others looking in adopting a new pet.
As sad as it is to say, even euthanizing an unwanted pet is more humane than dumping it from a home into the streets or a parking lot to fend for themselves!