GRANITE SHOALS, Texas — It's audio that former Granite Shoals resident James Tiemann says is "horrendous" to hear.
Members of the Wildlife Advisory Committee discussed proposals to get rid of feral cats last month.
"We have a location on this property that's called deer heaven that I'm sure could be kitty cat heaven too," the audio said. "Is there any sort of mass euthanasia program we could do? Do we have to - are you saying that we have to trap them no matter what?"
Tiemann leads Lockhart Lionharts which is a nonprofit organization that works to humanely control the population of cats.
"You don't want your public officials or people in a city committee discussing killing the feral cats," Tiemann said. "And it's not just the feral cats, it's gonna be people's companion cats that are wrapped up in this."
Recently, the Hill Country Humane Society wrote a letter to the mayor of Granite Shoals stating it will no longer provide services to the city, calling the committee's suggestions "blatantly illegal and unethical behavior."
Mayor Ron Munos sent KVUE a statement on the matter, which says in part, "One of the most pressing issues at hand is to renew the City of Granite Shoals' relationship with the Hill Country Humane Society."
Munos also stated that various organizations have agreed to assist Granite Shoals with its feral cat colonies.
"The committee never was intending on doing anything illegal immoral or unethical," said Jeffrey Herzog, a member of the Wildlife Advisory Committee. "As we were discussing that topic, what we thought we were discussing was the best way given the circumstances we were put in to handle a situation we were asked to handle."
On Tuesday, council members voted to form a feral cat management committee to handle the issue, by allocating money from the Wildlife Advisory Committee.
"Trap, neuter, and return is the best method. Most effective method of doing this," Tiemann said. "If you don't like them, we can still be friends. You don't have to kill them."