It is alleged that the employees of the American Fork Walmart are putting down food and water which is poisoned for the feral cat colony by the store. If true, the intention is obvious: to kill the cats. A lady involved with looking after the colony, Stacey Ann Olson, reported on May 11 to the Trap–Neuter–Return Community on Facebook, that she is finding “piles of bloody vomit”. In her opinion Walmart is trying to get rid of the cats. They want to do it by poisoning. Stacey does not refer to the fact that if she is correct then this is a crime.

It is important, in my opinion, to report this sort of matter to the local police because big corporations cannot be allowed to engage in animal cruelty with impunity. It is casual cat cruelty; the sort that gets brushed under the carpet which perpetuates it.

Woman posts on Facebook that she will poison cats who poo in her garden

Help?

Stacey was looking for help to get the cats out of the area in order to protect them. She even provided her telephone number which I think is brave. You can telephone her if you can help in the following number: 801-830-6714. A colleague of hers, Theresa, can also be contacted at 801-310-2613.

Stacey’s posted her request for help on May 11 so she may have succeeded by now. I would doubt it though. This sort of corporate cruelty towards feral cats is not uncommon. It is a quiet war between TNR volunteers concerned with animal welfare and corporate America concerned with making money from profitable businesses. These companies think that feral cats spoil their businesses and therefore want to get rid of them. It’s understandable but their behavior is inexcusable. The best solution is a compromise which would be to allow volunteers to continue to take care of the cats but to ensure that they absolutely minimize any impact upon the business.

In my experience, shoppers normally do not mind the presence of cats. In many instances they actively enjoy their presence.