Las Cruces to consider fireworks restrictions, trap-neuter-return program for feral cats

2022-08-20 05:03:56 By : Mr. Gang Qian

LAS CRUCES - The Las Cruces City Council will consider resolutions related to fireworks and feral cat management when it meets Tuesday.

The council is meeting Tuesday this week due to the city recognizing the Juneteenth holiday on Monday.

One resolution under consideration would restrict the sale and use of certain fireworks for 30 days, which would include the Fourth of July holiday. The council is given the authority to restrict firework use through city code and state law if extreme or severe drought conditions exist.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor map, northern Doña County is experiencing extreme drought while the middle swath of the county — which includes Las Cruces — is in a severe drought. The southern third of the county is in a moderate drought.

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The restrictions would be similar to limits put in place last year, when residents could use "cone fountains, crackling devices, cylindrical fountains, flitter sparklers, ground spinner, illuminating torches, toy smoking devices and wheels" only in areas that are "paved, barren or areas that have a readily accessible source of water."

The city would prohibit the sale and use of "missile-type rockets, helicopters, aerial spinners, and stick-type rockets, ground audible devices such as chasers and firecrackers."

The city's Fourth of July concert and fireworks display would be unaffected by the restrictions.

In August 2021, the Las Cruces City Council approved of trap-neuter-return, or TNR, as part of its revised animal care ordinance. The ordinance established the definition of community cats, defined where they can be released following surgeries or trappings, created a four-strike policy for repeatedly impounded cats and encouraged the registration of community cat caregivers.

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But the city missed a deadline for adopting the policy, leading the city council to extend the deadline by six months in January 2022. On Tuesday, the council will consider a resolution supporting the ordinance.

TNR is intended to be a more humane strategy for reducing the city's free-roaming cat population than euthanasia.

Tuesday's council meeting starts at 1 p.m. inside Las Cruces City Hall and will be televised on CLCTV, Comcast Cable channel 20, and in high definition on Comcast Cable channel 928. The meeting also will be available online at clctv.com and at YouTube.com/clctv20.

Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com or @LittleGuyInATie on Twitter.