The legality of TNR

Anne

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I think I may actually be posting the very first question 


Amanda, I'm sure you're familiar with the recent uproar over the outrageous NY Times piece by Richard Conniff. My own blog post about it can be found here.

The NY Times published a few of the letters they received, opening with a sickening response by PETA's president. She ends it with this - 
Trap-neuter-return is illegal in most states because it constitutes abandonment of an animal, and should be in all.
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Can you please elaborate about the legal status of TNR? Is it really illegal in some states, and if so which states and what can feral caretakers do to protect themselves?
 
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mani

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This is a good question I hadn't even thought about, @Anne

I'll be interested to hear the reply.

Here in Australia TNR isn't as recognised as some other places, but I did manage to find out that it is illegal in my State:

In Queensland, it is unlawful to release a feral animal back into the wild (Land Protection (Pest and
Stock Route Management) Act, 2002). Therefore, TNR would not be lawful in Queensland under
current legislation. Queensland’s Animal Care and Protection Act, 2001 could be interpreted to
allow a managed TNR program to occur. However, the Land Protection Act, 2001, takes precedence
over the Animal Care and Protection Ac, 2001.
 
Norachan

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Wow, I'd never even imagined that it might be illegal in some places. How does that make any sense? 


In Japan the law states that no one is allowed to trap feral cats, unless they are being taken to a vet and will later be released in the same area. (This covers TNR.) There are no laws against feeding them, unless it's on someone else's private property, and no laws to stop you befriending them and taking them in. Nearly all the cat owners I know around here have formally feral cats that they started feeding and eventually coaxed indoors.

I'm interested to hear what Amanda says about this.
 
Norachan

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Mani said:
 
This is a good question I hadn't even thought about, @Anne

I'll be interested to hear the reply.

Here in Australia TNR isn't as recognised as some other places, but I did manage to find out that it is illegal in my State:

In Queensland, it is unlawful to release a feral animal back into the wild (Land Protection (Pest and
Stock Route Management) Act, 2002). Therefore, TNR would not be lawful in Queensland under
current legislation. Queensland’s Animal Care and Protection Act, 2001 could be interpreted to
allow a managed TNR program to occur. However, the Land Protection Act, 2001, takes precedence
over the Animal Care and Protection Ac, 2001.
Click to expand...
Mani, does that include native Australian animals? My brother lives in NSW and volunteers for a group that nurse injured sea birds back to health and then release them. I wonder if that would be seen as releasing a feral animal?
 
mani

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Norachan said:
 
Mani said:
 
This is a good question I hadn't even thought about, @Anne

I'll be interested to hear the reply.

Here in Australia TNR isn't as recognised as some other places, but I did manage to find out that it is illegal in my State:

In Queensland, it is unlawful to release a feral animal back into the wild (Land Protection (Pest and
Stock Route Management) Act, 2002). Therefore, TNR would not be lawful in Queensland under
current legislation. Queensland’s Animal Care and Protection Act, 2001 could be interpreted to
allow a managed TNR program to occur. However, the Land Protection Act, 2001, takes precedence
over the Animal Care and Protection Ac, 2001.
Click to expand...
Mani, does that include native Australian animals? My brother lives in NSW and volunteers for a group that nurse injured sea birds back to health and then release them. I wonder if that would be seen as releasing a feral animal?
Click to expand...
No, the definition of 'feral' in this case is 'having returned to an untamed state from domestication'

It's lovely that your brother does that.
 
amandaaca

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This is a great question, and one that has worried caregivers and trappers.  Hopefully I can clear this up!

'Abandonment' is removing care from an animal who relies on someone's care.  However, community (feral) cats do not necessarily rely on a person for their well-being.  Community cats live outdoors, in an area that has the resources to support them.  These resources could be provided by humans (a caregiver), or they could exist naturally in that area (ex: a dumpster, a natural wooded area for shelter, etc).  Their home is the outdoors, and community cats live healthy lives there.

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the opposite of abandonment because it returns community cats to the familiar environment that has provided for the cat.  Large-scale studies of community cats brought to spay/neuter clinics for the purpose of TNR show that community cats are overwhelmingly healthy, and have equally low rates of infections as pet cats.  Basically, they're doing well in their outdoor home!  TNR is the most humane approach to community cats as it returns those cats back to the environment they came from and that has been providing for them.

TNR is not abandonment, because the cats are being returned to the location where they were initially trapped.  You could think of it like this: TNR is a method to improve the cats' already good health (via sterilization and vaccination), and then it's simply providing transportation for the cats to return back to their original outdoor home that has been and will continue to provide support for the cats.

-Amanda
 
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Anne

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AmandaACA said:
 
This is a great question, and one that has worried caregivers and trappers.  Hopefully I can clear this up!

'Abandonment' is removing care from an animal who relies on someone's care.  However, community (feral) cats do not necessarily rely on a person for their well-being.  Community cats live outdoors, in an area that has the resources to support them.  These resources could be provided by humans (a caregiver), or they could exist naturally in that area (ex: a dumpster, a natural wooded area for shelter, etc).  Their home is the outdoors, and community cats live healthy lives there.

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the opposite of abandonment because it returns community cats to the familiar environment that has provided for the cat.  Large-scale studies of community cats brought to spay/neuter clinics for the purpose of TNR show that community cats are overwhelmingly healthy, and have equally low rates of infections as pet cats.  Basically, they're doing well in their outdoor home!  TNR is the most humane approach to community cats as it returns those cats back to the environment they came from and that has been providing for them.

TNR is not abandonment, because the cats are being returned to the location where they were initially trapped.  You could think of it like this: TNR is a method to improve the cats' already good health (via sterilization and vaccination), and then it's simply providing transportation for the cats to return back to their original outdoor home that has been and will continue to provide support for the cats.

-Amanda
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Makes a lot of sense to me! Obviously, PETA thinks otherwise. I wonder if anyone was ever taken to court over TNR?
 
amandaaca

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Makes a lot of sense to me! Obviously, PETA thinks otherwise. I wonder if anyone was ever taken to court over TNR?
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Let me ask my two lawyer colleagues and see if they can help with this one!

-Amanda
 
amandaaca

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So, I asked a couple of my colleagues about this.  Alley Cat Allies doesn't know of every court case (of course!), but we're not aware of anyone taken to court, let alone convicted, for trapping cats, having them vaccinated and spayed/neutered, and then returning them.

-Amanda
 
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Anne

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AmandaACA said:
 
So, I asked a couple of my colleagues about this.  Alley Cat Allies doesn't know of every court case (of course!), but we're not aware of anyone taken to court, let alone convicted, for trapping cats, having them vaccinated and spayed/neutered, and then returning them.

-Amanda
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That's good to know! Thank you!
 
feralvr

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Anne said:
AmandaACA said:
 
So, I asked a couple of my colleagues about this.  Alley Cat Allies doesn't know of every court case (of course!), but we're not aware of anyone taken to court, let alone convicted, for trapping cats, having them vaccinated and spayed/neutered, and then returning them.

-Amanda
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That's good to know! Thank you!
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VERY good news!! :bigthumb:
 
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