‘Throw them in the river’: Alberta mayor apologizes for feral cat remarks

An Alberta mayor has apologized after she mused about the “old days” of managing feral cats on her family’s farm by throwing them in the river or gassing them with a car’s exhaust pipe.

Fort Saskatchewan Mayor Gale Katchur says her comments fell short of her city’s values of compassion, respect and care.

“I recognize that these comments did not reflect the values of compassion, respect, and care that we, as a community, hold dear. I sincerely apologize for the remarks and any hurt they may have caused,” said Kutcher in a statement.

She says she plans to make sure Fort Saskatchewan’s approach to managing animal populations is humane and responsible.

“I deeply regret that my comments fell short of this standard.” Adding, “Our community deserves leadership that reflects these principles, and I am committed to learning from this experience.”

Katchur, recently came under fire following a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, where she seemingly suggested that people take matters into their own hands and kill the cats.

“When it comes to feral cats, it would be cruel to say, but it would be interesting that if people could deal with them themselves, I’m going to say in the old days when you lived on the farm. Now be careful, because when you lived on the farm, if there were cats, you used to throw them in a bag and throw them in the river or they just put them on the exhaust pipe,” Katchur said through laughter during Tuesday’s meeting.

“It’s okay, I grew up on a farm I used to know what happened back then. There would be no emotion tied to it. People just dealt with cats that showed up unwanted, so, for all the city people, that’s the reality of living on a farm,” said Katchur. “I hope that doesn’t get captured anywhere, as being the mean mayor.”

Officials say there haven’t been many complaints or concerns about feral felines and that there were only 11 calls for service over the last six years.

Alberta’s SPCA and the Edmonton Humane Society released a joint statement following Katchur’s apology, saying they are both aware of the comments made on Tuesday by the mayor.

“While we applaud the community for discussing responsible pet ownership bylaws, we are incredibly disappointed anyone would make such callous comments about the treatment of animals, let alone a community leader,” said Alberta SPCA Executive Director Leanne Niblock in a statement.

Both organizations say that if anyone is caught doing the actions described on Tuesday by Katchur, they could be charged under the Criminal Code of Canada or the Animal Protection Act for animal cruelty.

“Decades of progress in animal welfare have provided effective, non-lethal solutions, such as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), which help manage feral cat populations responsibly and humanely,” said Edmonton Humane Society CEO, Liza Sunley. “Euthanasia, when necessary, should always be conducted humanely by veterinary professionals.”

-With files from the Canadian Press