FORT BENNING, Ga., (April 20, 2016) -- Fort Benning now has a stray animal management plan. Stray animals will be picked up based on reports from installation personnel, said Ted Roever, Integrated Pest Management coordinator.

"I'm going to make that clear that we don't do patrols," he said. "That's a very costly way of doing business ... so it's based on complaints."

Directorate of Emergency Services still responds to emergencies - such as a dog or a cat that is a threat to personnel or their pets; but for routine occurrences, trapping will be done through a Directorate of Public Works work order.

The change is due primarily to an U.S. Army Installation Management Command decision to include stray animals in installations' pest management programs; however, budget limitations and the best use of DES resources are additional factors, Roever said.

Fort Benning prohibits cats and dogs running loose on post, unlike other places where stray cats, and sometimes stray dogs, aren't addressed as strictly. Roever said the bulk of the strays come from the Family housing areas.

"If you're not a resident in the housing area you're not authorized to have a pet (on post)," Roever said, explaining that the Maneuver Center of Excellence Regulation 40-905 is derived from Army Regulation, 40-905.

It's important that the housing areas as a whole participate in controlling stray animals in order to reduce the need for Fort Benning organizations to respond, Roever said.

"Stray animals have potential for health and safety issues with installation personnel, or if they interact with pets," he said. "It doesn't do the stray animal itself good to be running loose like that."

He added the animals could be hurt from automobile injuries or contract diseases from other stray animals or wildlife.

"There's things like parvo(virus), distemper, feline leukemia, all sorts of diseases," he said.

Roever said animals running stray are also a threat to wildlife.

"It can hurt the stray animal, but it is also damaging to ... the wild birds every year especially (due to predators such as feral cats)," he said.

Conversely, stray animals could also become victims of wildlife predators or sustain injuries.

To learn more about the stray animal policy on post, call Roever at 706-545-2643. Call the work order request phone number at 706-545-2135 to report stray animals.

If located in the Family housing area, contact your housing village manager regarding both the policy and to report stray animals.

If a stray animal is reported and caught, it will be taken to a no-kill shelter facility and examined for a microchip. The pet will be available for pick up by the owner for the first three days. Owners must bring proof of ownership. If left unclaimed, the animal will be put through the adoption process.