One of the most effective and time-saving ways for the limited staff at hard-working Dallas Animal Control to scoop up stray dogs, cats and other wild animals is for residents to catch them in humane traps. Then animal control officers can just come by and pick up the animals without wasting time attempting to catch them or simply arriving hours after a report was phoned in. Great idea. Practical. Money-saving.
As long as you don’t actually try to get a trap. Because the city doesn’t have anything like enough of them.
As of today, the city’s trap division uses a recorded announcement (214-671-0311) explaining that while they now deliver rather than require pickup of traps, the waiting time can be 3-4 weeks. In animal trapping terms, that’s the equivalent of never gonna happen.
Nor can you pick up traps at either of the city shelters, on Forney Road or next to the zoo. Part of the reason is that people haven’t returned the traps they were loaned. But the larger reason is that the city just doesn’t pay for enough of them. If you want a trap, you can try some of the voluntary rescue organizations (kittico for feral cats). Otherwise it’s up to you to figure it out.
Given the horrendous problem in Dallas with loose and wild dogs and other animals (check out our upcoming July issue for details), the first thing on the agenda of the new city council ought to be coughing up some emergency funding for a thousand or so humane traps. They save money, time, and potential injury for a comparative pittance in equipment outlay.
Get on it.
