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OCAC is stating TNR goes against California Penal Code, 597s, which is does not as seen by all other neighboring Counties within California that have been performing TNR and continuing to do so. OCAC is stating it is a financial burden, although funding has been allocated for TNR in our OC Community Resources budget long before they moved to their new $35 million dollar facility. And standard economics justify spaying one cat is more cost effective than caring for the cat, her kittens, and all other kittens that continue to multiply. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: No Kill Advocacy Center <info@nokilladvocacycenter.org> Date: Tue, Jun 29, 2021 at 7:13 AM Subject: TNR/RTF is Legal in California To: <Andi.Bernard@occr.ocgov.com>, <Monica.Schmidt@occr.ocgov.com> Cc: <Dylan.Wright@occr.ocgov.com>, <Cymantha.Atkinson@occr.ocgov.com>, <Lisa.Bartlett@ocgov.com>, <donald.wagner@ocgov.com>, <doug.chaffee@ocgov.com>, <Andrew.Do@ocgov.com>, <Katrina.Foley@ocgov.com> Andi Bernard Director, Orange County Animal Care 1630 Victory Rd. Tustin, CA 92782 Dear Mr. Bernard, We are writing in response to an email sent to volunteers and rescuers that Orange County Animal Care has discontinued its community cat sterilization (i.e., TNR/RTF) because of the belief that it is illegal in California; namely, that it violates the cruelty law against abandonment. It does not. California's Food & Ag Code Sec. 31105 mandates that counties shall provide for "The taking up and impounding of all dogs which are found running at large..." but there is no parallel provision for rounding up healthy community cats and agencies are not compelled by law to do so. CA Pen. Code Sec. 597.1 (c) (1) only requires cats to be taken in if they are injured and, even then, the statute mandates that they be taken to a veterinarian for "proper care and \[to be\] given emergency treatment." And given that custody of cats through trapping is only done while contemplating the cat's re-release, if the cats are healthy, re-releasing the cats as part of a community cat sterilization program lacks the kind of general or specific intent that the animal cruelty laws require. As prosecutors across the state and country have noted, the abandonment statute is, \[D\]irected at those people who dump their pets and those individuals who move from an area and leave their pets behind. If an animal is returned to the area where it is being fed, it would be a greater injustice to find that these animals had been abandoned so that no action to spay/neuter the animals would be taken by anyone. The reasons for this are obvious. First, community cat sterilization improves, rather than threatens, the health and safety of cats. This includes providing a physical exam, vaccination(s), and other medical services to improve the quality and longevity of their lives. 4