Bill > S1034

Introduced Session

The bill establishes the "Compassion for Community Cats Fund" for the Department of Health (DOH) to provide grants to municipalities and counties to establish programs to humanely trap community cats, and sterilize, ear-tip, vaccinate against rabies, and return each community cat to the location where community cat was trapped. The bill defines "community cat" as a cat, whether or not fearful of, or socialized to, humans, that has no known owner, lives and freely roams in the outdoors, and that may or may not be cared for by a person, including, but not limited to, by a person who provides food, water, veterinary care, or indoor or outdoor protection from the weather. The bill also provides, with limited exceptions, that: 1) no cat may be released for adoption from an animal rescue organization facility, shelter, pound, or kennel operating as a shelter or pound unless the cat has been spayed or neutered by a licensed veterinarian; and 2) any community cat trapped and impounded at a shelter, pound, or kennel operating as a shelter or pound, or trapped and taken to an animal rescue organization facility, must be spayed or neutered, ear-tipped, and vaccinated against rabies before being returned to the location where the community cat was trapped or given to a person assuming ownership of the community cat. A person who violates the provisions of the bill would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, to be collected by the Department of Health in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The "Compassion for Community Cats Fund" is to be credited with the monies collected for violations, the surcharge on dog licenses imposed by section 1 of P.L.1983, c.181 (C.4:19-15.3c), any moneys appropriated by the Legislature, and any return on investment of moneys deposited in the fund. The spaying and neutering requirements do not apply to a cat or a community cat that: 1) is less than two months old; 2) a licensed veterinarian determines cannot be spayed or neutered for other health reasons affecting the cat; 3) is placed in a foster home or transferred to another shelter, pound, kennel operating as a shelter or pound, or animal rescue organization facility by a shelter, pound, or kennel operating as a shelter or pound; or 4) is to be euthanized in accordance with the provisions of section 16 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.16) and R.S.4:22-19, which provide for humanely euthanizing animals after a shelter, pound, or kennel operating as a shelter or pound has offered the animal for adoption for at least seven days. The bill authorizes an animal rescue organization facility, shelter, pound, or kennel operating as a shelter or pound to charge the cost of spaying or neutering the cat to the person assuming ownership of the cat. The bill also authorizes the DOH to adopt regulations necessary to implement grant programs and fund the spaying and neutering requirements established in the bill. Finally, the bill amends various sections of existing law to allow for the implementation of the new spaying and neutering requirements established by the bill and other provisions of the bill. The bill also repeals sections 2 and 3 of P.L.2011, c.142 (C.4:19-15.30 and 4:19-15.31), the "Pet Sterilization Pilot Program. Feral cat populations have existed in the State since the time of the first European settlements and they continue to exist primarily due to a lack of effective management in the form of spaying and neutering. To a lesser but still important extent, cats are abandoned, stray from their owners, or are allowed to roam unsupervised, and, if sexually intact, will reproduce. Feral cats are known as "community cats" because they live outdoors and are not owned by anyone but may be cared for by members of the community. The practice of "catch and kill," whereby community cats are trapped and subsequently euthanized, has failed to effectively manage feral cat populations and the continued use of "catch and kill" is an inhumane practice that is incompatible with the moral values of this State. "Trap, neuter, vaccinate and return," also known as "TNVR," is the most effective, compassionate, and humane method of managing these populations of community cats. TNVR is a nonlethal population control method in which community cats are humanely trapped, vaccinated against rabies, and spayed or neutered by licensed veterinarians, and then returned to the location where they were trapped. TNVR is also the most effective method of reducing the burden of community cats on the State's animal shelters. The Office of Veterinary Public Health in the Department of Health reported that cats accounted for more than half of the animals impounded and nearly 80 percent of the animals that were euthanized in the State's animal shelters in 2017. The TNVR method of managing community cat populations is also cost effective for the State's taxpayers, the most beneficial to public health, and results in improved quality of life for the residents of the State. Five counties and more than 150 municipalities in the State and the National Animal Care and Control Association, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States endorse TNVR for managing community cat populations. This bill would promote the use of TNVR by enabling municipalities and counties to implement this effective, compassionate and humane method of managing community cat populations through provision of municipal startup grants and by appropriately aligning the use of the Animal Population Control Fund with spraying and neutering services in the State to manage community cat populations.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Brian Stack (D)*,  Joe Cryan (D),  Patrick Diegnan (D),  Samuel Thompson (D),  Shirley Turner (D), 

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee (on 10/19/2020)