Ripon moves to ban feeding feral cats on public property to protect endangered rabbit

The City of Ripon is moving forward with an ordinance aimed at protecting an endangered species by prohibiting people from feeding feral cats and stray animals on public property.

The amendment to the city's municipal code would allow the city to issue citations to people who continue feeding feral cats after being warned.

The proposed ordinance comes as conservationists work to protect the riparian brush rabbit, an endangered species found only along portions of the lower Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers.

In Ripon, residents say feral cats are a common sight, including around Mavis Stouffer Park, where people have been leaving bowls of food for them.

"We have a lot of cats in our neighborhood, and people do feed them," Ripon resident Aislinn Ingles said.

Ingles said she understands why people want to help stray cats but believes controlling their population is important.

"Spay and neutering sucks. It costs money, but I think it is a needed thing, especially around here where there are so many," she said.

Susan Manning, who has worked with Tri-County Wildlife Care for years, said feeding feral cats can contribute to population growth.

"If people feed, they breed," Tri County Wildlife Care President Susan Manning said.

Manning added, "Reality is one in seven Americans feeds cats that they don't own. We get a warm and fuzzy and we want to take care of them, so then we feed them and that's bad."

The riparian brush rabbit is an endangered species found nowhere else except the Lower Stanislaus and San Joaquin Rivers.

They were practically wiped out after a major flood swept through the region three decades ago.

Since then, conservationists have been working to bring them back. The City of Ripon adopting this ordinance is one way to help.

"There's a very limited population along certain stretches of the Stanislaus River," council said. "While you're trying to help out these cats and other animals by feeding them, you're just multiplying them and making a bigger problem."

Feral cats are naturally good hunters and known to spread diseases to these rabbits.

For Manning, she says more needs to be done.

"It does not help. People will continue feeding. They'll be sneaky around it and it does nothing about the current population," she continued. "The only way for it to be humane is if they trap, neuter, release, or they trap, neuter and find homes for them."

First comes a warning and if residents don't comply, $100 citation comes next.

All to help this small species make a comeback.

"When we lose this rabbit, we lose something that's really critical to us, which is biodiversity," Manning said. "Biodiversity helps create clean air and water, which is necessary for all of us to survive and thrive."

The ban has not come into effect yet but will once the city council does its second reading of the ordinance next month.