Under section 235 (4), any owner whose dog is found to have caused damage to a person, livestock, or other property shall be responsible for that damage. Get the latest cat news, information, and ways to take action and save cats' lives! The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held that a cat's owner did not owe a duty to prevent her cat from trespassing on her neighbor's property. Rev. . C. G. S. A. 3.2-6524(B) . Community cat is the term we use for domestic cats who live outdoors and have no indication of having an owner. 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. The court held that the defendant did not owe a duty to the plaintiff to prevent the feral cats from causing this damage, and therefore, the defendants failure to prevent the cats from damaging the plaintiffs property did not constitute negligence. Increasingly, communities are passing local ordinances with positive, proactive language related to Trap-Neuter-Return or Shelter-Neuter-Return. 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. ; Schauber, E.M. The aforementioned study of a TNR program on the Texas A&M campus, for example, revealed trapping efficiencies comparable to those reported in Randolph County: approximately 9.5 trap-nights per cat (one trap-night = 1 trap 1 nights use) [2]. 3.2-6500 . 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 The majority of cases that have addressed liability for feral cat owners are unpublished decisions involving local ordinances, highlighting the impossibility of discerning a single set of guidelines for dealing with feral cats. 29D05-0605-SC-1055 (Ind. Ordinances often include sections on animal cruelty, ownership, at-large regulations, mandatory spay/neuter, and cat licensing. (For further discussion of general issues pertaining to feral cats and feral cat colonies, see Anthony B. Lacroix, Feral Cats , Animal Legal & Hist. Feral cat virus infection prevalence, survival, population density, and multi-scale habitat use in an exurban landscape. You can find our guide for Best Practices: Community Cat Colony Care.. This case illustrates the careful balancing act involved in crafting a feral cat statute or ordinance. Do not add any meat scraps to a compost pile. But these issues can typically be addressed with guidance from trap-neuter-return (TNR) groups or animal shelter staff. $35 $50. 2020National Feline Research Council | Contact Us | Privacy Policy. 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. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 2004, 225, 13611364. For model ordinances and examples of communities leading the way for humane care, read more about how Alley Cat Allies is creating community change. cats kill an estimated minimum of 31.4 million small mammals and 7.8 million birds per year. ; Haller, L. The Effects of Implementing a Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Program in a Florida County Animal Control Service. PeerJ 2013, 1, e18. Today more than 800,000 people look to Alley Cat Allies for leadership on saving cats' lives, developing communities that safeguard cats, and helping shelters embrace feline-friendly . 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. As researchers noted in a 1996 article published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, these programs not only address the overpopulation issue by preventing new litters, but also serve to reduce roaming, spraying of urine, and fighting among the cats [1]. With your generous support, we can protect and save the lives of cats and kittens. Could they be exposed to criminal liability for abandonment, neglect, or failure to comply with registration or spay/neuter requirements? But see Allen v. Cox , 942 A.2d 296, 304 (Conn. 2008) (holding that when a cat's owner knows that the cat has a propensity to be violent, the owner may be liable for reasonably foreseeable injuries caused by the cat's aggressive behavior). Id. Follow best practices for caregivers, and choose discreet locations for feeding stations and shelters. Guide to Local Government: Animal Control, Harmful Laws That Push Cats into Shelters, Know Your Rights: How to Talk to Animal Control. 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. You: Do you think I am violating any laws? Exceptions: Special area restriction apply in Unit 14C Source Arizona - AZ Species you can Trap: Small game (cottontail rabbits and tree squirrels), skunks, muskrats, badger beavers, raccoons, and weasels require a permit to trap. Taking a feral cat in the wilds of Idaho would require a valid hunting license. Examples from various locations outlined below: University campus: On the Texas A&M campus, researchers documented the removal of more than one-third of the free-roaming cats for adoption following the implementation of a TNR program. It's going to be cheaper (and more humane) for you to have them sterilized. Even hybrids require quite a bit of time from their . As communities across the U.S. consider how best to manage their population of unowned, free-roaming cats, an option often proposed is an outright ban on residents feeding feral animals. The relevant science suggests, however, that such policies are not only unlikely to reduce free-roaming cat populations but might actually backfire, increasing their numbers. Do some research to find out about your local animal control. Help us continue our work for cats: Join our online community and become part of the movement to save cats lives! at 45; see also McElroy v. Carter , No. Since South Dakota state laws do not address feral cats, it is unclear whether they would be included. 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. Politely tell the officer that you do not consent to a search. ; Sieving, K.E. Write down everything immediately after the encounter. Rhode Island then allows local governments to implement permitting requirements for feral cat caretakers. What they do: The history of leash laws and why they need to end: At the very least, they should exclude community cats so people can freely carry out TNR. 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. Keep grills and barbecue pits clean to avoid enticing smells. . 964 (Fall 2008) . This is important because anything animal control can see may be used as cause to search or obtain a warrant. Feb. 16, 2007). Further, cases like Kyles are limited in their usefulness since they do not present a single, bright-line legal rule for determining ownership of feral cats. A further problem is the relatively limited degree of control exercised by the defendant in Baker . alleycat.org/Licensing Local authorities, often in the form of an animal control agency are charged with enforcing laws related to the control and impoundment of animalsincluding laws that may affect the feeding, spaying and neutering, and care of outdoor cats. Provisions that define someone as an owner for feeding, harboring, or keeping an animal discourage well-meaning people from caring for cats and participating in Trap-Neuter-Return because they fear the costs and legal consequences associated with owning the cats. /* ----------------------------------------- */ Complete removal of feral cats could be employed on small, isolated areas or islands in Florida. 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. Regularly fed cats are also less likely to spread the parasite, Reason 3: the feral cat population is out of control. When damage to property or persons is reasonably foreseeable, a court in these jurisdictions could impose civil liability on keepers and caretakers for breaching their duty to control the feral cats in their care. This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. If she moves to a new neighborhood, might she be held criminally liable for abandoning the cat she once cared for? 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. You cannot trap a cat and then shoot it if the cat is trapped on your property. Do not touch or threaten officers or neighbors. Licensing requirements are often a death sentence for community cats because they typically require that any cat not displaying a license tag be impounded. To understand the varying approaches taken by each state, it is instructive to look at those states that authorize local governments to enact ordinances regulating feral cat ownership. Under Virginia law, local governments may prohibit any person other than a releasing agency that has registered as such annually with local animal control from owning a cat four months old or older within such locality unless such cat is licensed as provided by this article. Va. Code Ann. 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. 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. The answer depends on where you live. ; Nielsen, C.K. Second, keepers and caretakers do not exercise the level of control over feral cats that owners of wild animals exercise over those animals. See id. Studies on food habits of free-ranging cats show that some individuals kill more than 100 wild animals each year. Owned cats, even those who live primarily indoors, are at risk of being impounded if they slip outside and are not wearing a collar and license. 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. "Dangerous dog" means (i) any individual dog anywhere other than upon the property of the owner or custodian of the dog and unmuzzled, unleashed, or unattended by its owner or custodian that behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to a person or Second, the plaintiff argued that the defendant was responsible for the damage caused by the cats because feeding and watering an animal serves as an invitation to stay in the area. Will she consider the possible rights and responsibilities that might arise from her caretaking? It is possible, then, that individuals who care for feral cats in these jurisdictions would not be required to comply with any of the requirements imposed on animal owners, nor would they be liable for any damages caused by the animals behavior. The answer to this question is likely to depend on the degree of control that the individual exercises over the cats. 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. 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.
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