I read with great interest the March 4 story about trapping cats.

It is interesting there is a brouhaha about whether a property owner can humanely trap a domestic animal, be it a cat or dog, that is consistently coming into his yard and making a pest of itself by either peeing, pooping or annoying your own animal who is in its own yard. It is the cat owner's responsibility, in this case, to make sure she is in control of her pet. She should not allow the cat to be someone else's problem.

I was dismayed that Beaufort County Animal Shelter director Tallulah Trice never mentioned in the story the Beaufort County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 14, Section 28 -- Restraint of animals by owners, sub-section (a) Running at Large:

"It shall be unlawful for any owner or custodian of any dog, cat, or other animal to permit the dog, cat, or other animal to run at large at any time upon any street or highway or other property within the county."

How much clearer can the ordinance be?

It appears to me that cat-owner responsibility is different from dog-owner responsibility, even though they should be exactly the same.

Judy Coxen

Beaufort