Lee County Domestic Animal Services will hold a task force meeting for Lee County residents interested in participating in a Trap-Neuter-Return Program for feral and community cats on Wednesday, Feb. 6 from 2 to 3 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the agency’s Lost and Found Pet Center Conference Room, 5600 Banner Drive, Fort Myers, next to the Lee County Sheriff’s Dept. The TNR program is aimed at reducing the number of feral cats currently estimated at 98,000 in Lee County.

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved a TNR Program in 2009 to provide sterilization and vaccination of wild outdoor community cats to reduce overpopulation and euthanasia. A Task Force was also formed in 2009 to handle the demand for the program but additional volunteers are needed.

Task Force members donate a few hours or a few days per week. Responsibilities include assisting residents with setting traps, transporting trapped cats for sterilization appointments, returning sterilized and vaccinated cats to their original trapping site, and providing education. Representatives are needed for all areas of Lee County.

Each year in Lee County thousands of feral and community cats in good health face unnecessary euthanasia without a TNR program. The University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine advocates that TNR is the most humane and effective solution for preventing pet overpopulation and reducing euthanasia. Further studies also support that eradication, as a method to reduce overpopulation, has been a failure.

For information about TNR or to make a reservation for the Task Force Meeting contact Lee County Domestic Animal Services at (239) 533-9227 or email arothwell@leegov.com .