Correspondence - Non-Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Second, these cats often have caregivers. Third, most of these cats are not lost. They are outside, but they get lost when they are taken to a shelter. Returning them to where they were trapped merely returns them home. Fourth, even if they were lost when they were picked up, the likelihood of being reunited with their families is greater for cats if they are allowed to remain where they are rather than being admitted to the shelter. In one study, cats were 13 times more likely to be returned home by non-shelter means (such as returning home on their own) than by a call or visit to a shelter. And another study found that people are up to three times more likely to adopt cats as neighborhood strays versus adopting from a shelter. From a policy perspective, if the concern is harm to cats (which is what the animal cruelty laws, of which the abandonment statute is a part, contemplate), the risk of death is lower and the chance of adoption higher for cats when they are sterilized and returned than when cats are impounded in a municipal shelter facility, where they face the very real threat of harm (i.e., killing). As such, community cat sterilization increases reclaim by families or adoption into a new home better than impoundment does. Given this, it is not surprising that the American Bar Association, the nation's largest association of legal professionals, has embraced community cat sterilization, finding the practice legal in jurisdictions which also have laws proscribing abandonment. This is also why municipal shelters across the state, and across the country, and the majority of companion animal humane organizations in the country, embrace community cat sterilization programs. Mr. Bernard, aside from the legality of such programs, it should also be noted that community cat sterilization is good policy that:  Improves the quality of life for community cats;  Reduces intake and killing of community cats;  Reduces complaint calls to animal control;  Reduces illness in the shelter;  Reduces spending (and waste of taxpayer money); and,  Increases opportunities to expand lifesaving of other animals, such as dogs, too. You can find more information about the benefits in our guide for shelter managers and policymakers: nokilladvocacycenter.org/community-cat-program.html. In the interim, we hope that we have addressed any misgivings the agency has about the legality of community cat sterilization and the importance and benefit of retaining a program whose cancellation will result in unnecessarily increasing the killing of cats. Thank you. Very truly yours, Nathan J. Winograd -- No Kill Advocacy Center www.nokilladvocacycenter.org 6114 La Salle Ave. 837 Oakland CA 94611 5