Feral cats will stay in any area where food is plentiful. Thus, when a statute or local ordinance explicitly defines the role and responsibility of a feral cat keeper or caretaker, it is important to look closely at the statute, ordinance, and any relevant case law to fully understand the risks, rights, and responsibilities associated with caring for feral cats. ; Weng, H.-Y. If you are not comfortable answering questions, exercise your constitutional rights by politely telling the officer that youd like to remain silent, and then do so. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 2002, 5, 285298. Sign this form so we can trap them." You: Animal Control: "Our local ordinance prohibits feeding animals on public property." You: Animal Control: "You will receive a citation." You: Officers cannot search beyond what the warrant allows. Rev. What, then, is the answer to the question of whether feral cat keepers and caretakers are the animals' owners? When included as part of targeted TNR efforts, regular feeding of free-roaming cats can reduce potential impacts on public health, wildlife, and the environment because targeted TNR efforts can be implemented more efficiently when cats are fed regularly. The shelter was told by the defendant that the cat was feral, and the cat was euthanized. White-tailed deer are protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code as a game species. Id. . H028774, 2007 WL 495897 (Cal. Prohibit feeding of stray cats in public lands that serve as wildlife habitat. At common law, the answer to this question is unclear. At the same time, the level of control exercised by feral cat keepers and caretakers is often significantly less than the control exercised by an owner of a domestic housecat. The plaintiff argued that the store owner was liable under a common law negligence theory for breaching his duty to provide a safe environment for customers. Animal Control: That depends on if the cats belong to you. Animal Control: Weve had complaints about cats that you feed. Cases are scarce, and the cases that do exist are unpublished and highly fact-specific. ; Schauber, E.M. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e20891. Therefore, feral cats do not quite fit within the common understanding of domestic cat ownership. 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 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. It could be foreseeable, then, that a stray or feral cat in a store could injure customers who came on the premises. You can find our guide for Best Practices: Community Cat Colony Care.. A further problem is the relatively limited degree of control exercised by the defendant in Baker . Take note of what the warrant says, and where it permits the officer to search. At least one other state, however, has taken a different approach. Keepers and caretakers provide a valuable service, and the law should not discourage these individuals from caring for animals in need. Animal Control: We received a complaint about cats in the neighborhood. alleycat.org/Licensing Animal Control: "We have a search warrant for this home." You: 22-339d . On the other hand, in cases like McElroy where the owner had no reason to foresee any damage or injury that her cat might cause, a court may be unlikely to find that such a duty exists. Animal Control: Dont worry, weve got a warrant. /* ----------------------------------------- */, 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. 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. Sept. 29, 2006) . Should cats be culled to stop extinctions? - BBC News The court further suggested that counties might resolve this problem by modifying their feral cat ordinances to require feral cat caretakers to notify neighbors of the colony's existence, the potential for damage from such a colony, and appropriate preventative measures that could be taken. Id. 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. 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. Feral cats do not fit neatly within the common law categories of animal ownership. Second, keepers and caretakers do not exercise the level of control over feral cats that owners of wild animals exercise over those animals. 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. In recent years, some jurisdictions have expressly exempted caregivers from the definition of owner in order to avoid confusion. at 10. This article addresses three primary legal questions. 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. All rights reserved. However, caregivers often consent to these requests because they dont know they have the option to say no.. Follow good colony care practices including keeping the area clean and removing all food after 30 minutes.

Baldwin Keyless Entry Troubleshooting, Taurus Horoscope 2023 Ganeshaspeaks, Paw Patrol Chicken Nuggets Recall, Florida Snorkeling Tours, Bicester Village Virtual Shopping, Articles I