A petition to stop municipalities from enacting animal feeding bans has been circulating online since mid-January, and it’s growing.

Humane Society Officer Donna Crum started the petition last month after speaking at a packed Palmerton Borough Council Meeting, where cat advocates from all over the county gathered to push back on the borough’s own feeding ban: Ordinance 728. As of Feb. 21, the petition has garnered over 2,400 signatures.

“A cat is a cat is a cat,” Crum said. “There is no stray cats, abandoned cats, domestic cats, feral cats — they’re under one definition under the code of federal regulation, which means they would be afforded state protection under any type of laws pertaining to cats.”

Crum’s petition went live following a packed borough council meeting last month, where cat activists from all over the area gathered to attend a Palmerton Borough Council meeting and make their opposition to the borough’s ban on feeding outdoor cats.

Meetings between cat activists and borough council about Ordinance 728 are ongoing.

But the petition, Crum said, is meant to go beyond Palmerton borough. It “(requests) our legislators to finally support and pass legislation for the protection of feral cats throughout the commonwealth.”

“We believe that feeding bans statewide in Pennsylvania would not only conflict with the current newly-adopted ‘ACT 10- Libre’s Law,’ but also we feel that those local governing bodies would be in violation either directly or indirectly by forcing residents, (who would also be in potential violation of the following offenses) to stop feeding and abandon these cats within any location forcing them through the feeding ban, especially at the worst vulnerable time of winter months where they must maintain their body weight and metabolism in order to survive this winter,” the petition reads.

Libre’s Law is an animal cruelty law that was passed last year after the neglect of its namesake, a puppy who was near death when rescued from a Quarryville-area farm in 2016, sparked demand for stricter laws against animal abuse.

In her position, Crum said that she’s been dealing with feral cats for years. It’s been a contentious issue in Palmerton, with one side advocating for the humane treatment of unclaimed and outdoor cats, and the other against what they believe to be a health issue for the borough.

“A win for us is going to be a win for these other townships,” Crum said in January, shortly before the petition went live. “We can’t keep fighting these little battles. It has to go across the state of Pennsylvania.”