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Stray Cat

Town Passes Stray Cat Ownership Law

New rule makes people who feed strays responsible for them.

The mayor and council in the township of Vernon, N.J., have passed a law decreeing that people who feed stray cats can be considered the cats owner and held responsible.

The new ordinance replaces an old law, under which animal control officers could be summoned to collect cats that strayed off their owners premises, even if people knew to whom they belonged.

Now, only cats lacking known owners, caregivers or places of shelter will be considered public nuisances, even if they have not committed any offenses.

Under the new law, both owned and ownerless cats that bite, scratch or harm townspeople or trespass upon and damage property could be impounded and disposed.

The council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance on Wednesday, July 27.

Township Attorney Joseph Ragno, owner of two cats, has said that choosing to feed and shelter a cat is a matter of free will and if residents are feeding and sheltering cats they don't wish to be responsible for, they should cease and call animal control to collect them.

Cat advocates have said that the ordinance falls short of the mark and have suggested that Vernon officials explore adding a licensing requirement for owned cats and study-approved programs for managing feral cat populations.

Posted: July 28, 2006, 5 a.m. EST

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Reader Comments
This ordinance sounds terrible. It doesn't sound like the stray cats will be dealt with humanely. Maybe these people need some information about population control from Alley Cat Allies.
Lisa, Atlanta, GA
Posted: 3/3/2008 6:08:56 PM
The town passed this ordinance slanting it as a good thing. If one reads the entire cat (and dog)ordinance of Vernon (read it yourself on http://www.vernontwp.com/township/departments/cler- k/ordinance-06-23.html), this was just a bandaid over a horrible existing ordinance that gives the township alot of reason to legally dispose of animals when it wants to. This portion of the ordinance was passed to pave the way for legal mass-murders (my words and opinion) because an animal tested positive for rabies from which I understand the head of animals control wouldn't flinch from executing a mass ongoing execution if he had to. Such is the fear of rabies. Please people, one thing officials don't tell you is that rabies generally stays dormant for six months. In its dormant state if the animal bites someone, another animal/human CANNOT contract rabies. If it is active and bites you it can pass on rabies but the animal will be dead in a week. In most cases if the animal is alive after a week, it DID NOT have rabies. So in many cases animals can be killed for no reason (or should I say for being too careful.) (This tendency to be "too careful" is in my opinion the catalyst for a lot of wrongs done in our society.) Animals have as much right to live as humans do, and this whole Vernon ordinance stinks big time. This town also won't allow TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) to solve a stray/feral cat population by the way).
Janys, Vernon, NJ
Posted: 12/22/2006 3:25:13 PM
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