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“I’m looking for an answer…I've been doing this for 11 years and we have not put a dent in this problem.”
Roark is hoping to help people understand what exactly cat colonies and dog villages are.
“Feral cat colonies and dog villages allow people to feed and take care of sterilized kitties and doggies within an area to reduce them breeding and stop the overpopulation.”
But some, like the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, worry the colonies will cause more problems than they solve, and fear the effects on other wildlife.
“It’s not really getting rid of the problem, the problem is the cats and dogs being there in the first place. They're not domesticated anymore they're feral."
They're going to go out and they're really going to work on our bird population and small critters like squirrels . They can eat up to 50 birds a year, and about 20 squirrels” said Keith Stephens with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Stephens added, "these colonies and villages will provide a food source for predators, such as coyotes, which are growing nuisance in Little Rock."
Some Little Rock Board of Director's have expressed concerns about where these cat colonies and dog villages will be placed.
Director Doris Wright, of Ward 6 told us" my constituents are concerned that these animals will lower property values and poop everywhere. They are also concerned about barking and cat fights". Wright added, "if you think more apartments being built right next to nice neighborhoods in west Little Rock upset people, wait until Animal Services starts dumping dogs and cats out there."
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| WRIGHT HAS CONCERNS ABOUT NOISE AND POOP |
Little Rock has an ordinance requiring animal poop be scooped or fines can be assessed.
Roark hopes to work with other organizations to trap, fix and let the feral cats and dogs back into localized colonies and villages, that don't grow.
"It does not get bigger because everyone is sterilized, plus the food source is there and you create a zone where you have sterilized cats and dogs," Roark claims.
He says other cities across the county have done this, and he hopes Little Rock will be the next in line.
"That would be the whole program, that they would have a place to go," Roark said.
Roark will soon hold a public meeting to get input on his idea.
We ran a story back in 2014 when Mayor Mark Stodola announced the Little Rock Zoo was replacing the elephant exhibit with an adopt-a-dog village to help reduce the number of dogs the city had in the shelter. That idea resulted in a public outcry and a three month long protest by PETA in from of the mayor's residence.
