Although some state and local governments have enacted statutes and ordinances attempting to resolve some of these issues, most jurisdictions do not have any laws governing the care and ownership of feral cats. Feral cats do not fit neatly within the common law categories of animal ownership. . Keep reading to discover more information on this issue and why its such a problem. Isn't there a city ordinance forbidding feeding feral animals? (a)(1) If a recipient fails to comply with the spaying or neutering agreement within 30 business days after the agreement is signed, the recipient shall forfeit the sterilization deposit and is subject to a fine pursuant to Section 31763. And these colonies can be a threat to public health. If the cat is determined to be truly feral, the cat may be euthanized or relinquished to a nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,1 animal adoption organization that agrees to the spaying or neutering of the cat if it has not already been spayed or neutered. Penal Code 42.092 , 60 Baylor L. Rev. "There is a California law that prohibits the abandonment of animals PC 597s(a): 'Every person who willfully abandons any animal is guilty of a misdemeanor.' Many state and local governments have not directly addressed the issues of ownership and responsibility related to feral cats. . . When a person sees a malnourished kitten roaming her neighborhood, her first instinct is often to stop and help. Commission does not consider feral cats to be a wild mam-mal or wildlife species as defined in Chapter 37 of the Nebraska statutes (37-246, 37-247). ), 31753. Upon adoption, sale, giving away, or transfer of ownership, the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group shall provide information on the transference of ownership, including microchip company information, the microchip number and any other relevant identifiers, and any other information needed for an owner or new owner to register themselves as the microchip's primary contact, as applicable. (6) If the adopter or purchaser presents proof of spaying or neutering to the entity from which the cat was obtained within 30 business days of obtaining the proof, the adopter or purchaser shall receive a full refund of the deposit. Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are unclear and depend heavily on the local law. Food & Agric. 22-339d(a) (West 2001). Like Connecticut, Delaware, and Maine, Rhode Island states that any individual who permits a cat to habitually be or remain on or be lodged or fed within such persons property or premises qualifies as an owner. A: There's a prohibition in the city of Bakersfield, but not in unincorporated areas of Kern County. In general, though, these state laws are strictly definitional. In contrast, keepers and caretakers usually care for feral cats where they find them, exercising a limited degree of control over the animals. "The application includes ranking the existing at-grade crossing on a formula that considers several aspects of the existing crossing. If your town is considering a feeding ban proposalor you've been threatened with or given a citation related to a feeding ban ordinance already in placewe know that you are in a difficult situation and facing difficult decisions about caring for cats. Under the Texas Animal Health and Safety Code, "custody" includes responsibility for the health, safety, and . Its true that there are many individuals and organizations that are willing to help these defenseless animals. It reads, in part, that "it is unlawful for any person" to "purposely or knowingly, in any manner, provide access to food, feed or bait to any wild animal, including, but not limited to, coyotes, deer, squirrels, feral cats, foxes, raccoons, skunks, waterfowl, birds or beavers.". 31750. Thank you for reading! The court rejected this argument because, as a factual matter, the record showed that a local organization returned the cats to the neighborhoodnot the defendant. Control agencies, shelters, or rescue groups; spaying or neutering requirements, 31751.4. These important distinctions would explain why some states have specifically excluded feral cats from their statutory definitions of exotic or wild animals. The court further noted that the county ordinance appears to contemplate and accept the possibility that feral cats, once altered, will be returned to the colonies from which they were captured. Enforcement 6.1.801 Entry on premises to seize and impound animals. (a) A mammal occurring naturally in California that is not a game mammal, fully protected mammal, or fur-bearing mammal is a nongame mammal. 2005), Exotic Mammal, Ind. As discussed above, feral cats do not fit neatly within the common law of animal ownership. 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. The letter shall include a description of the cat. False information regarding spaying or neutering; civil penalties; use of funds from penalties, 31764. Legislative findings and declarations. Illinois explicitly exempts feral cat caretakers from its definition of animal ownership, as long as the caretaker is participating in an authorized trap-neuter-release program (TNR program). Amended by Stats.2000, c. 57 (A.B.1786), 2, operative July 1, 2001; Stats.2000, c. 567 (A.B.2754), 7.5, operative July 1, 2002.). Rather than feeding feral cats, its better to just adopt them directly. Penal Code 42.092 , 60 Baylor L. Rev. (Added by Stats.1998, c. 752 (S.B.1785), 16.5, operative July 1, 2001. All rights reserved. Partly cloudy skies. In states that have not addressed feral cats in their laws, to what extent can a caretaker be liable for tort damages caused by feral cats? The question, then, is if a feral cat is not quite a wild animal and not quite a domestic animal, how will a court determine ownership? There are many other things you can do to contribute to the well-being of stray animals and your community in general. Sept. 29, 2006) (holding that a domestic cat owner is not under a general duty to prevent property damage caused by the cat unless the damages were foreseeable). Hughes, K.L. 32.1302 Food Left Outside for Any Animal During Certain Hours. In doing so, it is unlikely that the individual will carefully consider the legal ramifications of her actions before giving the cat food and water or bringing it into her garage to give it shelter from the cold. Therefore, in the absence of a specific statute defining the rights and responsibilities of feral cat caretakers, an individual who regularly cares for feral may not qualify as an owner or a legally designated caretaker. Higher wind gusts possible.. Even in jurisdictions that have statutes or ordinances pertaining to feral cats, it is difficult to know how those laws will be interpreted by a court. (2) Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 31401) of Division 14 and Section 9 do not apply to a violation of this section. (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. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Application of chapter; spaying or neutering required, 31762. Chapter 1. (B) Forfeited to the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group if proof of spaying or neutering is not presented to the animal shelter within 30 business days. Community cat spay/neuter surgeries are performed Tuesday-Friday by appointment. 3.2-6587(A)(2 ). My Animals A blog on tips, care and everything related to the world of animals. 2012 2023 . (a) The owner of a nonspayed or unneutered cat that is impounded once by a city or county animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or humane society, shall be fined thirty-five dollars ($35) on the first occurrence, fifty dollars ($50) on the second occurrence, and one hundred dollars ($100) for the third or subsequent occurrence. at 74850. Drop off is between 9-9:30am Tuesday-Friday only. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, but the appellate court rejected the trial courts analysis of the plaintiffs nuisance claim. Under this regime, if a keeper or caretaker has given a feral cat food and water every day for several years and has provided the animal with periodic veterinary care, that person is more likely to be viewed as an ownerand subject to liabilitythan a person who has merely fed a feral cat once a day for six months. Chapter 1. Rather, they typically authorize local governments to enact their own ordinances. Owners of wild animals intentionally possess those animals, knowingly exposing themselves to the risks that a wild animals presence might pose to the local community. Its also something that can be harmful for the health of these animals themselves. The law in California that allows non-profit organizations to remove feral cats from animal shelters as an alternative to destruction appears to incorporate past lessons on the need for public support. Chapter 3. (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. Baker v. Middleton , C.A. We will do our best to find a second home for your pet. Among the provisions include possession requirements for non-domestic cats, vaccination and impound procedures for domestic cats, and legislative policy statements about feral cats. (Stats.1957, c. 456, p. 1382, 4151. , 825 N.E.2d 189, 676 n.1, 686 (Ohio Ct. App. She did not provide shelter or veterinary care, and she never relocated or confined the animals. (2) Receives from the recipient a sterilization deposit of not less than forty dollars ($40) and not more than seventy-five dollars ($75), the terms of which are part of the written agreement executed by the recipient under this section. A wild animal is an animal that belongs to a category of animals that have not been generally domesticated and that are likely, unless restrained, to cause personal injury. Restatement (Third) of Torts: Physical and Emotional Harm 22(b) (2005) . Birds and Mammals. This subdivision is applicable within any county. 6.1.802 Authority to arrest and to issue notices to appear. 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) An animal control officer, humane officer, police officer, peace officer, or any agency authorized to enforce the Penal Code may write citations with a civil penalty stated in an amount corresponding to the violation as provided in Section 31763. 3.2-6500 . Fish and Game Code. This case illustrates the careful balancing act involved in crafting a feral cat statute or ordinance. See id. As discussed below, this diminished level of control makes it difficult to determine how feral cat ownership should be determined in common law jurisdictions. However, there are some communities were doing so is illegal. Feb. 16, 2007). At least one other state, however, has taken a different approach. 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. (4) Feral cats pose particular safety hazards for animal shelter employees. See, e.g. What do we need to keep in mind? And as their numbers grow, they become impossible to nourish, which can lead them to starve Especially when well-intending neighbors become overwhelmed by the crowd and stop setting out food. (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. If the adopter or purchaser presents proof of spaying or neutering to the entity from which the cat was obtained within 30 business days, the adopter or purchaser shall receive a full refund of the deposit. (3) The deposit shall be temporary, and shall only be retained until the cat is healthy enough to be spayed or neutered, as certified by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state. Part of the difficulty in determining the default state of the law in the absence of a feral cat statute or ordinance arises from the fact that there are very few court decisions addressing issues related to feral cats. Relying on testimony from the director of Indy Feral, a local organization that works with feral cat colonies, the court found that feral cats will stay with their colonies in a specific location regardless of whether they are fed and watered. Special Provisions Applicable to Counties with a Population of Less Than 100,000 Persons. Kyles v. Great Oaks Interests , No. At the same time, an overly burdensome notice requirement could easily become a strong disincentive to individuals who may have otherwise considered becoming feral cat caretakers. This interpretation of the law may be further supported, however, by the fact that state and local governments found it necessary to enact feral cat legislation in the first place. (2) A kitten under eight weeks of age that is reasonably believed to be unowned and is impounded in a public or private shelter may, before the euthanasia of that animal, be made immediately available for release to a nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, animal rescue or adoption organization if requested by the organization. To ameliorate this problem, several states have enacted laws that modify this common law view of ownership and enable local governments to impose specific requirements on keepers and caretakers of feral cats. The majority of cases that have addressed liability for feral cat owners are unpublished decisions involving local ordinances, highlighting the impossibility of discerning a single set of guidelines for dealing with feral cats. 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. at 26. (2) A deposit that is both of the following: (A) Refundable to the recipient if proof of spaying or neutering of the cat is presented to the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group not more than 30 business days after the date the cat is spayed or neutered. The fact that classifying feral cats as wild animals would expose feral cat caretakers to strict liability would probably make a court less likely to find a feral cat to be a wild animal. Repealed by Stats.1985, c. 1290, 2, 31751.3 . In determining whether the nuisance claim could be decided on summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the appellate court evaluated whether the plaintiffs had adequately shown that the defendants owed them a legal duty of care, that the defendants breached that duty, and that the breach was the cause of the plaintiffs damages. Also, laws can state that a separate violation occurs to each animal involved. Will she consider the possible rights and responsibilities that might arise from her caretaking? . As discussed above, there are serious policy concerns that would likely preclude the imposition of strict liability on feral cat keepers or caretakers, making it implausible to define feral cats as wild animals. , 746 N.Y.S.2d 747, 750 (N.Y. App. Unless the cat has vicious tendencies that are known to the owner, a court is likely to find a duty only if the damages caused by the cat were reasonably foreseeable. 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. (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group shall sell or give away to a new owner any cat that has not been spayed or neutered. The town ordinance required [e]very person responsible for an animal located within the City to ensure that such animal . Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section does not require a cat to be microchipped if the agency, shelter, or group receives a signed form from the owner reclaiming the cat or new owner receiving the cat that states that the cost of microchipping would impose an economic hardship for the owner or new owner. Once more,its extremely important to check into local animal control ordinances. While in some places its illegal to feed stray animals, that doesnt mean we cant look for other ways to help them. See David Favre & Murray Loring, Animal Law 7 (1983); see also Eyrich v. Earl , 495 A.2d 1375, 1377 (N.J.Super. Division 4. This rule would effectively advance two competing policy goals: (1) encouraging people to care for feral cats and (2) holding caretakers more responsible when their actions begin to look more like those of an owner than those of a caretaker. Any extension shall be in writing. Other laws with the potential to impact 6.1.703 Removal of animal from City. (b)(1) Except as provided in Sections 17006 and 31752.5 and paragraph (2), stray cats shall be held for owner redemption during the first three days of the holding period, not including the day of impoundment, and shall be available for owner redemption or adoption for the remainder of the holding period. See generally Jeremy Masten, Note, Dont Feed the Animals: Quesos Law and How the Texas Legislature Abandoned Stray Animals, a Comment on H.B.2328 and the New Tex. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, however, courts will have no guidance other than common law. When the city and county do plan to construct a grade separation project, the Greater Bakersfield Separation of Grade District submits an application to the state of California for funding. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Jeremy Masten, Note, Dont Feed the Animals: Quesos Law and How the Texas Legislature Abandoned Stray Animals, a Comment on H.B.2328 and the New Tex. 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. You can certainly TRY a local feline rescue service, Code Enforcement, or even animal control of course, but feral cats are no picnic to catch. That's primarily because of the low volume of vehicles and trains -- typically only two per day. For the purposes of this division, each member of a litter of kittens, weaned or unweaned, shall be treated as an individual animal. The Baker court concluded its opinion, however, by raising an important concern about the balance between animal protection statutes and private property rights. High 49F. Similarly, Delaware defines a keeper of a stray cat as any person who has possession of or control over the animal and has fed the cat for three or more consecutive days. For example, an Indiana trial court recently found that a woman who fed feral cats and participated in a TNR program was not liable for negligently allowing the cats to damage the plaintiffs property. Someone who cares for a feral cat is likely to limit her activity to feeding, watering, and in some cases spaying or neutering the animal. Fish and Game Code. Chapter 2. (d) Any funds from unclaimed deposits made pursuant to this section, as it read on January 1, 1999, and any funds from deposits unclaimed after January 1, 2000, may be expended only for programs to spay or neuter cats and dogs, including agreements with a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a humane society or licensed veterinarian, to operate a program to spay or neuter cats and dogs. An animal is feral if it [e]xist[s] in a wild or untamed state, either naturally or having returned to such a state from domestication. The American Heritage Science Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin 2002). First, the article discusses issues related to ownership of and responsibility for feral cats, analyzing the treatment of ownership and responsibility under both feral cat statutes and common law. "Pets that are abandoned face the dangers of the elements, predators, other animals, vehicles and even humans. (3) If the owner, at any time subsequent to 30 business days after the spaying or neutering agreement was signed, provides proof of spaying or neutering, the deposit shall be forfeited, but any fine levied but not yet paid, shall be waived. Therefore, feral cats do not quite fit within the common understanding of domestic cat ownership. Many local laws are punitive. You have permission to edit this article. . So we would have to come up with the remaining money necessary to fund the project. The first problem is the question of whether feral cats are wild or domestic animals. Id. Amended by Stats.2019, c. 7 (A.B.1553), 9, eff. A rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, potbellied pig, bird, lizard, snake, turtle, or tortoise that is legally allowed as personal property and that is impounded in a public or private shelter shall be held for the same period of time, under the same requirements of care, and with the same opportunities for redemption and adoption by new owners or nonprofit, as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,1 animal rescue or adoption organizations as provided for cats and dogs. According to one source, the law in Texas prohibiting cruelty to animals did not specifically protect feral cats until 2007. Arguably, the Texas statute already protected feral cats, since it protected domesticated animals. However, the failure to explicitly include feral animals in the definition of domesticated animals apparently compelled an interpretationat least in the minds of many jurors and legislatorsthat those animals were excluded from the law's protection. Although the plaintiffs attempted to trap the cats and bring them to animal control, the animal shelter ultimately told the plaintiffs that the shelter did not have room to house any more cats. Similarly, Delaware defines a keeper of a stray cat as any person who has possession of or control over the animal and has fed the cat for three or more consecutive days. The fines shall be paid to the local municipality or public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group. No. Even in common law jurisdictions, the scarcity of published judicial opinions makes it difficult to determine what a judge will decide in a particular case. In short, we are in bad need of a couple of bridges over here, folks. Keepers and caretakers provide a valuable service, and the law should not discourage these individuals from caring for animals in need. Super. 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