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

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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.

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

Katchur’s comments came during a committee meeting on Tuesday that outlined solutions for managing feral cat populations.

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.

Katchur said during the meeting that farmers would place feral cats in bags and throw them in the river or gas them on an exhaust pipe.