Hess, S.C.; Hansen, H.; Banko, P.C. Some definitions are so broad that they can be interpreted as including community cat caregiverswho we know, of course, do not own community cats. at 98384, 98890. This is important because anything animal control can see may be used as cause to search or obtain a warrant. 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? 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. White-tailed deer are protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code as a game species. Researchers investigating infection rates among domestic and wild felids (bobcats and mountain lions) along the coast of central California found that infection rates in domestic cats collected from small to large colonies in close proximity to people, where they had access to provided food sources (e.g., commercial cat food or discarded human foods), were approximately 79% lower than rates in free-roaming cats living in undeveloped areas (81%) [14]. You may exercise your right to remain silent like in the examples above. You: What happens if I say no? . Community cat is the term we use for domestic cats who live outdoors and have no indication of having an owner. 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. A feral cat is totally unsocialized to people. at 45; see also McElroy v. Carter , No. Even hybrids require quite a bit of time from their . In this case, leash laws may apply only to cat owners and not caregiversa local attorney can advise you on the specific law in your area. Scientists are calling for a widespread cull of feral cats and dogs, pigs, goats, and rats and mice to save the endangered species they prey upon. Ct. App. 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. ; Gardner, B.; Simons, T.R. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 2002, 5, 285298. 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. Attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio. Marra's own work has shown that cats - mostly feral but also pets - kill billions of US birds and mammals every year . 29D05-0605-SC-1055 (Ind. 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. As discussed above, the issue in Baker required the court to interpret a feral cat ordinance . . A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to another, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or causes, procures or Levy, J.K.; Woods, J.E. 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 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. /* ----------------------------------------- */, Know Your Rights: How to Talk to Local Authorities, Exposing Cruelty at Berkeley County Animal Control in West Virginia, Cat-alyst Society Monthly Giving Program, Forget-Me-Not Legacy Society: Planned Giving, Tribute Cards and Plaques to Support Feline Rescue, Best Practices: Community Cat Colony Care, Cats and the Law: Finding and Understanding Your Laws, Cats and the Law: A Guide to Getting Legal Help, Know Your Rights: If Youre Stopped by Police and Searches and Warrants. And results of various other studies [17,18] demonstrate an increased difficulty trapping feral cats in more remote natural areas, where the cats are not likely being fed by humans. In light of the policy implications associated with defining feral cats as wild animals and thereby subjecting keepers and caretakers to a strict liability regime, a court would be more likely to find that feral cat keepers and caretakers are analogous to owners or keepers of domestic animals. ; Johnson, K.L. Fiori v. Conway Org. PeerJ 2013, 1, e18. 2023 Alley Cat Allies. Unfortunately, some authorities are stuck in an outdated mindset and arent supportive of TNR, or are tasked with enforcing antiquated laws that prohibit TNR or create barriers for community cat caretakers. The best way to find out is to check with your local animal control agency or wildlife department. ; Miller, M.A. In recent years, some jurisdictions have expressly exempted caregivers from the definition of owner in order to avoid confusion. 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. This article attempts to clarify the answers to these questions, giving feral cat caretakers, property owners, and others interested in the issue a clearer understanding of their legal rights and obligations. Restrictions or outright bans on feeding stray or feral cats are typically proposed in response to complaints about the presence of unowned, free-roaming cats. Feral cats are among the most prolific predators of numerous near-extinct native forest birds. 3 Del. The court noted that there was evidence presented to the trial court that the defendants had caused a large number of cats to be attracted to the area and frequent Plaintiffs backyard, thereby interfering with the plaintiffs use and enjoyment of their property. McElroy v. Carter , No. What they do: The history of licensing laws and why they need to end: Even with licensing laws, only 2 percent of impounded pet cats are reunited with their owners. Further, the statute provides that any refusal to permit any animal control officer to impound such cat shall be deemed evidence of ownership . Do not add any meat scraps to a compost pile. No. In many instances, you may ask animal control to return at a future date or time so that you may first speak with your attorney. Similarly, some states classify feral cat caretakers as owners and further require owners to spay and neuter their pets or immunize them against rabies. Note: Pay special attention to the definition of owner in your local laws. 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. You can find tips by referring to our factsheet How to Find Laws that Relate to Cats.. (The Center Square) - An animal rights group is applauding a policy change by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources regarding feral cats that could save taxpayers money. 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. The family brought suit against the apartment complex, the city, the county, and the garbage disposal company servicing the apartment complex, alleging, among other things, that attracting the cats constituted a nuisance. A statute conferring certain rights and responsibilities was not enough; the court would not find the existence of a general duty unless such a duty was explicitly defined by the law. 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. Stop. They may be able to help assist you in . This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly
Published research studies show that regularly fed free-roaming cats are less likely to hunt and kill wildlife. However, caregivers often consent to these requests because they dont know they have the option to say no.. Some feline experts now estimate 70 million feral cats live in the United States, the consequence of little effort to control the population and of the cat's ability to reproduce quickly. Or, politely request to speak to your attorney first. When animal control asks for your signature, they are probably seeking one of three things: If an animal control officer asks you for written consent or permission, it usually means they need your permission to do something and they dont have itfor example, to search or trap cats on your property. Id . ; Elsevier Health Sciences, 2007. 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. H028774, 2007 WL 495897 (Cal. These cats are regulated in a few different states and outright banned in some cities. On Ascension Island, for example, 298 trap-nights resulted in the capture of just three feral cats [19]. See, e.g. (c) Notwithstanding Section 31752, if an apparently feral cat has not been reclaimed by its owner or caretaker within the first three days of the required holding period, animal shelter personnel qualified to verify the temperament of the animal shall verify whether it is feral or tame by using a . See id. The reduction in intake was most likely due to several factors, including a decrease in kitten births via neutering, decreased nuisance behavior associated with breeding and territorial defense, and creation of alternatives to impoundment [5]. Feral cat virus infection prevalence, survival, population density, and multi-scale habitat use in an exurban landscape. If she moves to a new neighborhood, might she be held criminally liable for abandoning the cat she once cared for? Sept. 29, 2006) . Politely tell the officer that you do not consent to a search. However, on . In doing so, you may violate other laws that will get you into trouble and prevent you from legally protecting cats. (See If the officer asks to search your property). And since multiple surveys have shown that feeding stray cats is a common activity (1026%, depending on the survey) across the U.S., its reasonable to conclude that many free-roaming cats rely largely on food provided by humans and therefore pose less of a threat to wildlife than they otherwise might [5,9,11,12,13]. Further, feral cat caretakers in these jurisdictions may have a difficult time protecting feral cat colonies from animal control agencies and the actions of private citizens. 3.2-6524(B) . It is extremely rare that a caregiver is required by law to trap cats. Animal control officers may be employees of the city or work as contractors. 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. Although its somewhat counterintuitive, feeding free-roaming cats is a critical step in reducing their numbers through TNR. . Id. Jekel, J.F. So while feral cats are part of a domesticated species, it is possible that a court might find that specific feral cats qualify as wild animals, which would subject their owners and keepers to different requirements than owners and keepers of domestic cats. . VanWormer, E.; Conrad, P.A. Licensing fees are often money for general funds and not applied to save or to spay or neuter animals, which demonstrates the failure of cat licensing measures. 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. If animal control visits you once, make sure that you are following best practices when caring for your outdoor cats in case animal control comes back a second time. Kyles v. Great Oaks Interests , No. What, then, is the answer to the question of whether feral cat keepers and caretakers are the animals' owners? Rather, they typically authorize local governments to enact their own ordinances. It is illegal to take live deer from the wild unless you have received a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) or are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Normand, C.M. M2005-00414-COA-R3-CV, 2006 WL 2805141, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. Your attorney can help you look up your local laws and determine how to proceed. Animal Control: Are those your cats? Feral cats do not fit neatly within the common law categories of animal ownership. Studied at California State University, Stanislaus 2 y. Mahlow, J.C.; Slater, M.R. , 825 N.E.2d 189, 676 n.1, 686 (Ohio Ct. App. . 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. If a cat shows no signs of having an owner, or the person didnt know it had an owner, then it can still be killed, feral or not. Based on . . Laws affecting Trap-Neuter-Return and outdoor cats are different in every city and state. 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. Exposing Cruelty at Berkeley County Animal Control in West Virginia, Cat-alyst Society Monthly Giving Program, Forget-Me-Not Legacy Society: Planned Giving, Tribute Cards and Plaques to Support Feline Rescue, mandatory spay/neuter does not help community cats because they have no owner. (For further discussion of general issues pertaining to feral cats and feral cat colonies, see Anthony B. Lacroix, Feral Cats , Animal Legal & Hist. Remember: You dont have to give permission just because they ask for it. Further, it is a misdemeanor for a cat owner to fail to pay any license tax required by this chapter before February 1 for the year in which it is due. Va. Code Ann. Virginias comprehensive 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. Find our best practices at, If youre able, microchip community cats when you carry out TNR; this provides definitive proof that a particular cat matches your veterinary records and can save a cats life. In fact, the court noted that Indy Feral's website, offered as an exhibit by the defendant, states that feral cats will become an even greater nuisance if they are not fed on a regular basis, since this will require to the cats to forage for food. Licensing requirements are often a death sentence for community cats because they typically require that any cat not displaying a license tag be impounded. The Veterinary Journal 2014, 201, 269274. Indeed, a number of studies reporting trapping efficiency data indicate that cats living in proximity to humans generally as a result of being fed are much easier to trap than those living in remote areas. H028774, 2007 WL 495897 (Cal. But, you can only shoot feral cats if they are in your yard. The FWC's policy on feral cats is "to protect native wildlife from predation, disease and other impacts presented by feral and free-ranging cats.". As discussed below, some individuals may be disinclined to care for feral cats if they believe that doing so may expose them to civil or criminal liability. It's going to be cheaper (and more humane) for you to have them sterilized. It is important to note, however, that very few cases have addressed the issue of civil liability for feral cat keeping or caretaking. 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. Rather, the cases look closely at evidence of ownership to determine whether the keeper or caretaker should be subject to liability. Ordinances often include sections on animal cruelty, ownership, at-large regulations, mandatory spay/neuter, and cat licensing. As a result, more animals are in the shelter system and quite often killed, instead of working with individuals to match the needs of animals with community resources. 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. One commentator who has analyzed the issue in Texas raised the possibility that an individual who cares for a feral cat could be held criminally liable for abandonment if that individual ceased to provide the cat with food and water or failed to pay for the cats necessary medical treatment. Avoid feeding your own pets outdoors and cover trash scraps securely to deny unwelcome cats an easy meal. See David Favre & Murray Loring, Animal Law 2125 (1983) . Therefore, feral cats do not quite fit within the common understanding of domestic cat ownership. Center (2006)) . This helps minimize the chance that someone will call animal control in the first place. Cove, M.V. Feral cat feeding bans: The reasoning, risks, and results, Why communities consider bans on feeding feral cats, Cat feeding ban reason 1: nuisance complaints, Although counterintuitive, published research studies indicate that regular feeding of free-roaming cats as part of a targeted TNR effort can actually reduce nuisance complaints. Biological Invasions 2018, 20, 333344. At least one other state, however, has taken a different approach. at 2. The result of this approach is that the law of feral cats can, and often does, vary drastically within the same state. The answer depends on where you live. 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. Super. The following fact sheet provides you with information on your rights. Politely ask the animal control officer what specific ordinance requires you to trap the cats. 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. RI ST 4-22-2 . These important distinctions would explain why some states have specifically excluded feral cats from their statutory definitions of exotic or wild animals. Try seeing if there are any feral cat rescue groups in your area that do trap, neuter, release and colony care. 510 I.L.C.S. When a person sees a malnourished kitten roaming her neighborhood, her first instinct is often to stop and help. It is legal to kill feral cats in ALL 50 states, even CA. The shelter was told by the defendant that the cat was feral, and the cat was euthanized. 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. St. 37-246 (2008). 5/2.16 . This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. Implementation of a Feral Cat Management Program on a University Campus. Ideally, more state and local legislatures should begin to address this complex and convoluted area of law. 3. The report said that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion mammals every year. The Baker court concluded its opinion, however, by raising an important concern about the balance between animal protection statutes and private property rights. 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. at 96667. For community cats, an eartip signifies that theyve been spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Thus, the most rational way to determine ownership of feral cats is to use a modified version of the legal regime for owners of domestic animals, in which courts look at the extent to which a particular keeper or caretaker has exercised control over a feral cat and then imposes limited liability in a way that reflects that level of ownership. Since South Dakota state laws do not address feral cats, it is unclear whether they would be included. Super. 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. Follow best practices for caregivers, and choose discreet locations for feeding stations and shelters. Increasingly, animal control agencies and animal shelters are participating in TNR and Shelter-Neuter-Return (SNR), as they realize that doing so is best for the cats and the community. Donate. Write down everything immediately after the encounter. Global Ecology and Conservation 2018, 15, e00413. 2, 2007) (pdf file - 628.01 KB). Types of wildlife killed by cats typically include small mammals (60-70%), birds (20-30%), and amphibians, reptiles, and insects (10%). 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. Div. Will she consider the possible rights and responsibilities that might arise from her caretaking? The cat allegedly scratched the paint on the neighbor's truck, but because this kind of property damage was not reasonably foreseeable, the court held that the owner was not liable for any damages that her cat may have caused. to what extent can a caretaker be liable for tort damages caused by feral cats? Older terms for these cats include feral cats and alley cats, but as those cats may not be feral or live in alleys, the animal welfare . You: I do not give my consent to search my property. St. 37-246 (2008). Vaccination against rabies is an increasingly common practice for TNR programs in the U.S. Those citations will require court appearances next. This case illustrates the careful balancing act involved in crafting a feral cat statute or ordinance. 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 . Although counterintuitive, published research studies indicate that regular feeding of free-roaming cats as part of a targeted TNR effort can actually reduce nuisance complaints. By reducing the population of free-roaming cats, TNR programs protect humans from zoonotic diseases that can be spread by domestic cats (e.g., rabies, plague, etc.). feeding and cat colonies are illegal. Always be polite but firm when speaking to an animal control representative. Help us continue our work for cats: Join our online community and become part of the movement to save cats lives! Call local vet clinics and ask them for their "TNR" rates for sterilization. Further, the court stated that the plaintiffs claim of severe emotional distress that arises out of the alleged nuisance of having to deal with a large number of cats on their property . There shall be no liability on such person in damages or otherwise for killing, injuring from an attempt to kill, or for seizing the dog.
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