There is a small fee to turn in your pet, $20 to help cover some of the cost of feeding and caring for your pet including vaccines if they are not up-to-date. (2) If the agency, shelter, or group does not have microchipping capability on location, the agency, shelter, or group shall make a good faith effort to maintain a list of local and regional free or discounted regional microchipping services and provide that information to the owner or new owner. 7 M.R.S.A. First, how does feeding feral cats negatively impact the community? Upon moving into the home, the family noticed that many domestic and feral cats were frequently coming onto their property, and the cats had been defecating and urinating in the plaintiffs yard. . This type of sliding scale would enable courts to hold feral cat keepers and caretakers responsible when their actions reflect a relatively high degree of ownership. Food & Agric. Second, keepers and caretakers do not exercise the level of control over feral cats that owners of wild animals exercise over those animals. See David Favre & Murray Loring, Animal Law 7 (1983); see also Eyrich v. Earl , 495 A.2d 1375, 1377 (N.J.Super. Despite endless campaigns to raise awareness, there are still humans that make the decision to abandon their pets. In that sense, they are unlikely to pose a serious threat to humans, and any risk that they do pose is likely to be understood by the general public. Will she consider the possible rights and responsibilities that might arise from her caretaking? . Article 1. The entity shall establish the amount of the deposit at the level it determines is necessary to encourage the spaying or neutering of cats. Many people, even with the best of intentions, give cats food that isnt suitable for them. Ideally, more state and local legislatures should begin to address this complex and convoluted area of law. It seems to me that Gosford and at least one of the other roads in between Highway 99 could have a bridge to cut down on backed-up traffic. Id. Thus, it is vital that the drafters of feral cat legislation consider the effect that such legislation might have as a disincentive to individuals who may otherwise be inclined to care for the very animals that feral cat laws are intended to protect. Although feral cats do not necessarily fit within the common understanding of domestic animal ownership either, the ordinary liability imposed on domestic animal owners does not present the significant policy problems raised by strict liability. Special Provisions Applicable to Counties with a Population of Less Than 100,000 Persons. Of the judicial opinions written, most of them involve interpretations of feral cat ordinanceslike the one at issue in Baker further complicating the question of what happens when no such law exists. Many state and local governments have not directly addressed the issues of ownership and responsibility related to feral cats. However, there are some communities were doing so is illegal. Div. But taking care of a stray has a price under state law. We sometimes get stuck at the crossing for what seems like forever, and they do not split the train at 15 minutes to allow traffic through as they are supposed to, and one cannot always turn around in traffic. Further, the statute provides that any refusal to permit any animal control officer to impound such cat shall be deemed evidence of ownership . Theres always a need for caring individuals to help out at. Whenever a county, or a city that is within a county to which this chapter applies, requires cat license tags, the tag shall be issued for one-half or less of the fee required for a cat, if a certificate is presented from a licensed veterinarian that the cat has been spayed or neutered. Under this system, a person who feeds feral cats outside of her office building every morning might not be subjected to liability at all, whereas a person who provides shelter, food, water, and veterinary services for a group of feral cats would be more likely to be liable for the actions of those animals. "Pets that are abandoned face the dangers of the elements, predators, other animals, vehicles and even humans. Maines animal welfare law is structured in much the same way, although it requires an individual to feed an animal for ten consecutive days before she becomes a keeper and, by extension, an owner. First, feral cats are members of the same species as domestic cats. West's Annotated California Codes. (c) Public animal control agencies or shelters, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelters, humane society shelters, and rescue groups may enter into cooperative agreements with each other and with veterinarians in lieu of requiring spaying and neutering deposits to carry out this section. My Animals A blog on tips, care and everything related to the world of animals. 2012 2023 . However, it is possible that individual members of a domestic species could be considered wild if those individual animals have not been domesticated. TNR/Community Cat Care Financial Resources, How Rescuers Can Effectively Adopt Out Cats, Debunking the Myths and Misinformation: Cat Predation, Solutions to Prevent Surrendering your cat, Press Release on African Wildcat Campaign, Differences between AWCs and domestic cats, click here to see why feeding bans do not work, http://cfa.org/Portals/0/documents/legislative/cat-leash-laws.pdf, https://idfg.idaho.gov/question/it-legal-kill-feral-cats, http://www.accord3.com/docs/TNR%20Law%20Kortis.pdf, http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/feral-cats/nirenburg_hsus_cat_outdoors.pdf. In this case, the city -- if the project ranked high enough and we received funding from the state -- would need on the order of $15 million in local funds for the project. Amended by Stats.2004, c. 253 (S.B.1301), 6. In general, though, these state laws are strictly definitional. TNR. Local ordinances; animal placement procedures, 31764.5. (a)The required holding period for a stray cat impounded pursuant to this division shall be six business days, not including the day of impoundment, except as follows: (1) If the public or private shelter has made the cat available for owner redemption on one weekday evening until at least 7 p.m. or one weekend day, the holding period shall be four business days, not including the day of impoundment. Control agencies, shelters, or rescue groups; spaying or neutering requirements, 31751.4. Therefore, a notice requirement like that suggested by the Baker court would have to be drafted carefully to avoid creating a significant burden on potential feral cat caretakers. Once more,its extremely important to check into local animal control ordinances. That way, youll know just what the limits are when its time to act. (c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2002. (b) A person is subject to the civil penalties pursuant to subdivision (a) if that person does any of the following: (1) Falsifies any proof of spaying or neutering submitted for the purpose of compliance with this chapter. Nongame mammal defined; possession and taking; trapping for recreation or commerce; sale of raw fur. at 2. Code 14-8-2-87 (2009 ); Wild Mammals, Defined, Neb. Hughes, K.L. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Second, the article addresses the question of whether feral cat keepers or caretakers can be held civilly liable for the actions of feral cats. (Stats.1957, c. 456, p. 1382, 4151. "Historically, the city has received about $5 million for each project through this program. Providing resources to facilitate these efforts, including educational materials and funding, will help ensure their success. Cloudy. Local laws, on the other hand, vary significantly from town to town, and some of those laws may even go so far as to expose unwitting caretakers to civil or criminal liability. Feral domestic cats would almost certainly not be considered wild animals, since domestic cats have, by definition, been generally domesticated and are generally unlikely to cause personal injury. ), 31752. Control agencies, shelters, or rescue groups; spaying or neutering requirements. In one recent case, a California appellate court recently held that the plaintiffs nuisance claim, which was based on the defendants alleged failure to cease activity that resulted in the attraction of feral and domestic cats to the plaintiffs backyard, survived summary judgment. With some exceptions, cats are required to be held for six days, pending retrieval by their owners or adoption by the . Feral cats do not fit neatly within the common law categories of animal ownership. Article 8. . Alley Cat Allies supports laws mandating that animal pounds and shelters spay or neuter impounded animals prior to releasing them to an adopter. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, but the appellate court rejected the trial courts analysis of the plaintiffs nuisance claim. Any house cat (Felis domesticus) found within the limits of any fish and game refuge is a nongame mammal, unless it is in the residence of its owner or upon the grounds of the owner adjacent to such residence. "I would say no, because I've never even had the complaint," Davis said. Subject to some limitations, a person typically owns an animal when she has possession over it (for wild animals, ownership is subject to obtaining proper title from the state; for domestic animals, ownership is often subject to the property interest of the animals prior owner). (2) For the purposes of this section, a "rescue group" is a for-profit or not-for-profit entity, or a collaboration of individuals with at least one of its purposes being the sale or placement of cats that have been removed from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane shelter or that have been previously owned by any person other than the original breeder of that cat. (c)(1) Except as provided in Section 17006, any stray cat that is impounded pursuant to this division shall, before the euthanasia of that animal, be released to a nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,1 animal rescue or adoption organization if requested by the organization before the scheduled euthanasia of that animal. The Baker court concluded its opinion, however, by raising an important concern about the balance between animal protection statutes and private property rights. A: There's a prohibition in the city of Bakersfield, but not in unincorporated areas of Kern County. Credits(Added by Stats.1971, c. 1470, p. 2907, 21. M2005-00414-COA-R3-CV, 2006 WL 2805141, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. 4150 . (a) A public animal shelter shall not charge an adoption fee for a cat if the person adopting the cat presents to the public animal shelter a current and valid driver's license or identification card with the word VETERAN printed on its face pursuant to Section 12811 of the Vehicle Code. The cats also urinated and defecated in the crawl space of the home. This would expose keepers and caretakers to liability for the actions of feral cats, but it is plausible that a court would limit the liability of those keepers and caretakers to reflect the more limited degree of control that they exercise over the cats. at 74850. And a feral cat, generally speaking, is less likely to be tame than a domestic housecat. CA - Circus - 25989.1. Kern County Animal Control urges members of the public to try and find other alternatives to abandoning animals such as re-homing a pet with a friend, family member, co-worker, rescue organization or even a neighbor. In states and local jurisdictions where caretakers or keepers of feral cats are considered owners, it is quite possible that a feral cat caretaker could be subject to tort liability for trespass and nuisance claims. (a)(1) A person who commits any violation of subdivision (b) is subject to a civil penalty of not less than fifty dollars ($50) on a first violation of subdivision (b), and a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) on any second or subsequent violation of subdivision (b). According to one source, the law in Texas prohibiting cruelty to animals did not specifically protect feral cats until 2007. Thus, because the defendant was participating in a TNR program, the county ordinance could not serve as a basis for finding that the defendant was negligent in caring for the feral cats. (Formerly 31751, added by Stats.1970, c. 1303, p. 1303, 1. Partly cloudy skies. Finally, the statute permits local municipalities to enact separate ordinances prohibiting cat ownersincluding feral cat keepersfrom substantially damag[ing] property or caus[ing] an unsanitary, dangerous or unreasonably offensive condition. Id. These important distinctions would explain why some states have specifically excluded feral cats from their statutory definitions of exotic or wild animals. In jurisdictions where feral cat keepers or caretakers are considered the cats' legal owners, keepers and caretakers may also be liable for damage caused by feral cats to property or persons. RI ST 4-22-2 . Code 14-8-2-87 (2009. Restatement (Third) of Torts: Physical and Emotional Harm. This ordinance clearly outlined the rights and duties of feral cat caretakers, giving the judge a legal basis for deciding whether the defendant was liable for damage to the plaintiff's property. Article 1. ; Slater, M.R. Implementation of a Feral Cat Management Program on a University Campus. It could be foreseeable, then, that a stray or feral cat in a store could injure customers who came on the premises. 3.2-6500 . (d) If an adopted cat dies within the spaying or neutering period provided for in the written agreement pursuant to Section 31760, subdivision (c) shall not apply to the cat. The problem noted in the Baylor Law Review article, however, is that this broadened definition of animal may expose a caretaker of a feral cat to criminal liability for neglect and abandonment if, at some point, she ceases to care for the animal. 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