A St. Bernard Parish veterinarian defended himself during a public city council meeting after facing backlash over a proposal to address the growing stray cat population.
On Friday, Dr. David Hood, veterinarian with the St. Bernard Veterinary Hospital, issued a 3-page letter to the Parish Government, which called for a solution to the overpopulation of stray and feral cats.
In the letter, Hood argues that unmanaged cat colonies and public feeding contribute to overpopulation, animal hoarding, disease and parasite transmission, wildlife predation, and potential rabies exposure.
The letter soon circulated on social media, leading many residents to believe Hood was advocating for a widespread euthanasia.
During the council meeting, Dr. Hood said his words had been “taken out of context.”
He clarified that he was calling for “law and order” through a better-managed program.
“I’m saying we need to have a better managed TNR program and a centralized location of that cause right now we have numerous individuals, not all that are doing wrong, but numerous individuals without a centralized conservative effort,” Hood said.
The parish government apologized to Dr. Hood, and said they have no plans for mass euthanasia, or to end trap and neuter services from Snip & Tip.
“You have to trap, neuter, return, because otherwise the vacuum effect takes place and the cats move back in and breed twice as fast,” said Robbie Denny, St. Bernard Parish Community Cat Coalition and Snip & Tip St. Bernard, “They’re like, oh, we have more food. There’s fewer cats. We need to make more cats. It’s nature. But if you had the cats and they’re fixed, they reduce the population over time.”
Despite the council’s assurances, some residents expressed skepticism, saying Dr. Hood was given too much time to present his case during the meeting.
READ MORE: St. Bernard Parish addresses backlash over stray cat proposal
