Nongame mammal defined; possession and taking; trapping for recreation or commerce; sale of raw fur. Super. 6.1.702 Enforcement action. However, it's important to look into the local laws where you live, including laws that may apply to your specific community or neighborhood. (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. In Fiori , a customer sued a store owner after the customer was attacked by a cat that had taken up residence in the store and was being fed by store employees. Holding of other impounded animals, 31754 . Jan. 1, 2016; Stats.2019, c. 216 (A.B.273), 12, eff. 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? The court accepted the plaintiff's claim that the aggressive tendencies of stray and feral cats pose certain risks that domestic housecats do not, especially when they are cornered by human. In 2007, the Texas legislature amended its animal protection statute to include feral cats and dogs in the statutes definition of animal. This amendment was passed in response to several instances in which juries acquitted defendants who were accused of cruelty to feral animals because feral animals were not explicitly protected by the states animal cruelty statute. Among the provisions include possession requirements for non-domestic cats, vaccination and impound procedures for domestic cats, and legislative policy statements about feral cats. Ask The Californian appears on Mondays. 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. Holding of other impounded animals. Ensuring animals are sterilized prior to entering the community ensures that they will not contribute to the existing dog and cat population. (d) This section does not apply to a cat that is temporarily housed under an emergency evacuation order. Jan. 1, 2020. 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. Likewise, an Ohio appellate court has upheld a local ordinance that made it a criminal offense for, among other things, an owner, keeper or harborer of a cat to allow the cat to run at large. These laws should apply to all cats, not just owned, family animals. As noted in the feral cat discussion, some states have reduced the impoundment period for free-roaming cats. at *14. An estimated 10-12% of the American public feed community 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. They typically do not care where the feral cat spends most of its time, they rarely try to confine it, and their interaction is generally limited to providing the animal with food and water. See David Favre & Murray Loring, Animal Law 7 (1983) . Generally, legislatures pass laws to correct perceived deficiencies in existing law, particularly when there is no indication that the new legislation is intended to codify the current common law rule. (c) If a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in this state certifies that a cat is too sick or injured to be spayed or neutered, or that it would otherwise be detrimental to the health of the cat to be spayed or neutered, the adopter or purchaser shall pay the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group a deposit of not less than forty dollars ($40), and not more than seventy-five dollars ($75). Id. 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. Cases are scarce, and the cases that do exist are unpublished and highly fact-specific. What does it mean to own a feral cat? (d) A public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group may transfer to a new owner a cat that has not been spayed or neutered only if the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group does both of the following: (1) Requires a written agreement, executed by the recipient, acknowledging the cat is not spayed or neutered and the recipient agrees in writing to be responsible for ensuring the cat will be spayed or neutered within 30 business days after the agreement is signed. Restatement (Third) of Torts: Physical and Emotional Harm. at 26. See id. Food & Agric. Giving food to stray cats may seem like a noble gesture at first sight. at 98384, 98890. 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. Legislative findings and declarations. 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. M2005-00414-COA-R3-CV, 2006 WL 2805141, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, 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 any cat that has not been spayed or neutered. This article addresses three primary legal questions. , 825 N.E.2d 189, 676 n.1, 686 (Ohio Ct. App. 6.1.703 Removal of animal from City. Second, the article addresses the question of whether feral cat keepers or caretakers can be held civilly liable for the actions of feral cats. also survives summary adjudication. Thus, the appellate court partially reversed the trial courts grant of summary judgment, holding that the defendants could, in fact, be liable under a nuisance theory for damages arising from actions that caused the presence of [a] large number of cats on Plaintiffs property. See i d. at *1, *56, *1314. The court did not, however, address the question of whether a feral cat caretaker could be held criminally liable under the ordinancea distinct possibility, given the ordinances broad definition of ownership. The policy rationale supporting strict liability is that a wild animal is so inherently dangerous that the burden should be on the owner, who made a conscious decision to possess the animal, to control the animal at all times. At the same time, local authorities often argue that the presence of cats attracts other animals that we dont want in urban areas. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. See id. Control agencies, shelters, or rescue groups; spaying or neutering requirements. Licensed cattery; exemption from tag requirement. See id. (Added by Stats.1973, c. 361, p. 802, 3. Connecticut allows municipalities to require feral cat keepers to register with the local animal control officer. 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). ), 31752. 3 Del. 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. 32.1302 Food Left Outside for Any Animal During Certain Hours. Jan. 1, 2020; Stats.2022, c. 469 (S.B.856), 17, eff. Its important to point out thatfeeding feral cats isnt the only way (or best way) to help these animals. (c)(1) An agency, shelter, or group that violates this section on or after January 1, 2022, is subject to a civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100). . animal statute is a clear illustration of how a caretaker might be exposed to criminal liability for failure to comply with registration and spay/neuter requirements. 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. 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, or humane society shelter. When a person sees a malnourished kitten roaming her neighborhood, her first instinct is often to stop and help. (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. "The application includes ranking the existing at-grade crossing on a formula that considers several aspects of the existing crossing. That's primarily because of the low volume of vehicles and trains -- typically only two per day. 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. Dec. 14, 2001) . 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. (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. Finally, the court dismissed the plaintiff's trespass claim for lack of evidence. (Added by Stats.1973, c. 361, p. 803, 4. Holding period; owner redemption. Rather, the cases look closely at evidence of ownership to determine whether the keeper or caretaker should be subject to liability. (a)The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) Domestic cats' temperaments range from completely docile indoor pets to completely unsocialized outdoor cats that avoid all contact with humans. There are many other things you can do to contribute to the well-being of stray animals and your community in general. Will the kindhearted bystander wonder whether feeding the cat will cause her to become the cats legal owner? Feb. 16, 2007). (Formerly 31751, added by Stats.1970, c. 1303, p. 1303, 1. Also, if feeding wild animals is prohibited and the law doesn't clearly define feral cats as domestic animals, it should be addressed. Chapter 3. The first problem is the question of whether feral cats are wild or domestic animals. (2) An action for a penalty proposed under this section may be commenced by the administrator of the public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group from which the recipient obtained the animal that is the subject of the violation in a court of competent jurisdiction. That way, you can avoid possible fines or other penalties. Mammals. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1993, 203, 449-452. Consequently, feral cats do not fall under any authority or jurisdiction within our public institutions. This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. (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. (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. Holding period for impounded cats, (Added by Stats.1980, c. 1060, p. 3397, 2. Shelters; waiver of cat adoption fee for veterans; limit on number of cats adopted, 31766. As discussed above, this varying degree of control over feral cats is why common law jurisdictions are likely to determine liability based on the amount of control that a particular keeper or caretaker has exercised. 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. 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