Home » News » Senate Appropriations Committee Hears SB 250 ...

News

Senate Appropriations Committee Hears SB 250

May 08, 2009, 6:36PM MT

By Denise A LeBeau

Spay neuter mandates on the docket

Spay neuter mandates on the docket

The Pet Responsibility Act, SB250 , aims to make some significant changes to California law regarding spaying and neutering of dogs and cats. Existing law requires public and private shelters to sterilize before adoption, but SB 250 takes things quite a bit further in the direction of mandating spaying and neutering of dogs and cats.

• It requires dog owners or custodians to sterilize their dog at 6 months, or obtain a special unaltered dog license.

• It requires cat owners or custodians to sterilize their cats and it is illegal to allow an unsterilized cat (6 month or older) to ‘roam at large’.

• It does not mandate specific penalties, but rather leaves it up to local authorities to determine penalties for violators.

• In the case of cats it defines ‘custodian’ as a person who undertakes the personal care of a cat, or a person who provides care, security and sustenance of a cat on the person’s property for more than 30 days. This could include a person who allows a caregiver to care for cats on that person property.

There is a hearing scheduled for SB 250 on Monday May 11th at 11:00 am in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Best Friends Animal Society has not taken a position of support or opposition to this piece of legislation, but feels that the Bill would be greatly improved with the addition of an exclusion for feral cat caretakers. (For more information on how animal legislation is reported on the Best Friends Network, click here.)

If as a resident of California you wish to support or oppose this Bill consider carefully the implications for trap, neuter, return (TNR) programs for community cats. Feral cats make up a large proportion of cats destroyed in shelters. TNR programs allow them to live.

Consider also that no special provisions are being made to provide additional resources throughout the state for low cost spaying and neutering for people who are unable to afford these surgeries at a regular animal hospital.

posted by Best Friends staff
image by Clay Myers, Best Friends photographer

Comments

Posted May 18, 2009, 5:34PM by sdrd1031

Please also consider that, should this pass, there would need to be a massive public education campaign. Right or wrong, many people allow their cats to run free outside. If local authorities are left to their own discretion, they would need to be experts in knowing a cat's age and reproductive status on sight. Most of us know this is impossible. Without some guidelines, this could result in many more cats taken to shelters while their unsuspecting owners just think they're missing for a few days. In the mean time, many more cats would likely be euthanized. The euthanasia rate for cats is climbing exponentially this year, and it's not all from ferals. Spay/neuter is a good thing, but we must consider whether this bill, as written, would be irresponsibly harmful to cats who are neutered. These provisions could do more harm than good.
Sandi Cain, Laguna Beach

Posted May 13, 2009, 9:43PM by rayflade

If you read the fine print in California SB-250, the description of a cat "Custodian" explicitly excludes "Feral Cat caretakers".... This is a good thing, however, I still "Oppose" this bill based upon the fact that we already have too much govenrment legislation regarding our basic rights... It's like the law that states I "MUST" wear a helmet when riding my motorcycle...I would never ride without a helmet, but I hate having the Govt tell me I 'have to"... Ray Flade/Beverly Hills