Army Corps still after Feral cats in Lake Lanier's West Bank Park
Thirty wild cats have been trapped and removed from West Bank Park on Lake Lanier in a cooperative effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local animal groups, but about 25 remain.
The Corps of Engineers will work with another person to try to remove the remaining cats, dismaying the Humane Society of Forsyth County and the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The two groups wanted to trap, neuter and return the cats to the park and had been helping the effort.
Chris Lovelady, Assistant Operations Project Manager for the Corps, said the remaining cats have grown used to the traps being used and evade them. The Corps began using a new type trap this week and hope to catch the remaining cats in coming days. A local volunteer will remove the cats to other locations, he said.
Carmela Quinlan with the local Humane Society said she was disappointed the Corps was not planning to return the cats to the park after neutering and inoculating them. The society has relocated the 30 trapped cats they treated to an isolated property. Quinlan hoped the remaining cats would be treated and returned to the park, but Lovelady said the cats were a threat to wildlife and posed some health risks.
--Christopher Quinn
About the Author
Christopher Quinn is a writer and editor who has worked for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1999. He writes stories on Veterans Affairs, business including high-tech growth in metro Atlanta, Georgia's $72 billion farm economy, and he oversees assigning and editing news obituaries.
