Carbon County has an overpopulation of stray animals, a trend one animal advocate hopes to reverse.

Donna Crum, president of the Blue Mountain Animal Rescue Society and Carbon County Animal Cruelty Fund, addressed Mahoning Township supervisors about the issue on Wednesday.

“There should be even a smidgen of rules,” Crum said. “You guys got to be proactive rather than reactive.”

Crum cited the large number of strays, and the fact that once COVID broke, animals weren’t able to get spayed and neutered.

She told the board she plans to visit each of the municipalities in Carbon County over the next few months.

“It’s starting to be an epidemic in cats and dogs,” Crum said. “Rural areas are really the ones that get missed; it’s something that needs to be reviewed seriously.”

Board Chairman Robert Slaw suggested that Crum put down the information.

“We’ll certainly disseminate the information,” Slaw said. “We might be able to put it on our website.”

Supervisor Ronald Reeser agreed with Crum that it’s a problem.

“There’s cats everywhere,” Reeser said. “What you’re talking about is very real.”

After the meeting, Crum said they’ve been to houses throughout the county that had anywhere from 20 to 30 dogs.

“The overpopulation on felines is horrendous,” she said. “The overpopulation on canines is catching up real quick.”

Crum explained what her primary objective will be in the months that lie ahead.

“I’m getting numbers from as many rescues that I can as to how many they took in so we have a grasp on (things),” she said. “This it what needs to happen; this cycle has been repeated for years and years.”