Feral Cat Laws in Florida

[FN6]. FLORIDA FISH & WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION, IMPACTS OF WILDAL AND FREE-RANGE DOMESTIC CATS ON WILDLIFE IN FLORIDA (2001), available at www.floridaconservation.org/viewing/articles/cat.pdf. Also, the article deals with shooting on feral cats. The shot will automatically cause pain, even with the best shots. Therefore, this is likely to automatically be a violation of animal welfare laws. In Brevard County, volunteers from the Space Coast Feline Network, Inc. (SCFN), a Florida nonprofit, feed feral cats and run TNR clinics throughout the county. [FN18] The organization was founded in 1996 when workers at the Kennedy Space Center began caring for feral cats in an abandoned building. [FN19] In the first three years, the group saved more than 100 cats by caring for adults and adopting kittens. [FN20] Over the past two and a half years, the group has treated nearly 4,000 cats through its TNR clinics. [FN21] SCFN recently purchased 10 acres of land in Mims, Florida, on which the organization plans to place a feral cat colony and build an office, veterinary facility and concierge residence. [FN22] SCFN plans to house cats in its Miss facility in four modules, each of which can accommodate up to 25 cats and includes fenced indoor and outdoor spaces and mosquito nets to prevent cats from moving around and keeping other animals away. [FN23] There must be a pervasive, loud and continuous campaign at the national and local levels to educate the public about the impact of free-ranging cats on Florida`s wildlife and human health.

The campaign must include public announcements on television, radio and newspapers, as well as education in public schools. New ideas, such as the campaign to leave no waste or recycle, spread when they are constantly presented to the public and especially when they are taught to children in schools. But the problem of feral cats was not popular with state or local authorities. Previous efforts to educate people, encourage sterilization, and discourage abandonment were timid at best. The incentives for sterilization should be so great, and the penalties for leaving the country should be so severe that people would notice and no longer ignore the law. [FN1]. The University of Florida Conservation Clinic is an interdisciplinary legal clinic located in the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida`s Levin College of Law. Under the supervision of its director, the clinic provides University of Florida graduates and law students with value-added applied training opportunities by providing services to governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as individuals pursuing conservation goals. This project is an effort by the University of Florida Conservation Clinic to support the United States. Fish & Wildlife Service by researching the legal and policy considerations of feral cat colonies in Florida. See conservation.law.ufl.edu.

The order is part of a national effort to control stray and feral cat populations through a process of capture, sterilization or sterilization, vaccination and return to their environment, said Doug Brightwell, director of animal services for Pinellas County. At the federal and state levels, there are wildlife laws designed to protect species such as migratory birds and those classified as endangered or threatened. When properly enforced, these existing laws could be effective in preventing the use of TNR and cat colonies as a means of managing the free-ranging cat population in this country. In addition, local governments issue ordinances to control domestic and wild animals within their jurisdiction. However, most existing local regulations do not effectively address the issue of free-ranging cats and, in some cases, even exacerbate the problem. In addition to small mammals, predation by free-ranging domestic cats negatively affects the populations of many species of birds and possibly turtles in Florida. For example, cats have hunted plovers, juveniles and adult Florida bush jays, and dwarf terns, all nationally listed bird species, as well as black skimmers, painted sparrows and oystercatchers. [FN46] A report on the ecology and management of the Florida bush jay warns that “a domestic cat population supported by human food supplies could wipe out a small local population of Florida bush jays.” [FN47] A graduate student conducting a study of feral cat colonies in two parks in Miami-Dade County watched cats hunt and kill a young yellow throat and blue jay, and found the carcass of a gray catbird in the colony`s feeding area.

[FN48] Outside of Florida, there are documented cases of cat predators in hatched sea turtles. [FN49] Although there are no studies showing the extent to which cats hunt sea turtles in Florida, as free-ranging cats are known to visit the state`s beach areas, and since cats hunt turtles in other parts of the world, it is likely that turtle hatchlings in Florida will also be captured by cats. They get shot all the time in North Florida and that probably will never change because there are many laws that protect us from killing cats. Now it is illegal for OVB to leave your home every day with the sole intention of killing cats. Also through a scope, you can see cat hair one by one 🙂, I will take your advice on Florida counties that have laws on labels for cats and therefore they have to wear collars, for face value. There are 67 counties in Florida. Are you sure they all have animal laws that relate to the requirement to wear labels on collars? Thank you Larry. I agree. Of course, it is very unlikely that a person fears for his life because of a domestic cat or a wild cat. In fact, it is almost impossible, unless, for example, you know that the cat has rabies and is aggressive towards you.

Florida has a huge and growing free-ranging cat population, which poses a threat to the state`s native animal species and poses a serious public health concern. Proponents of freedom from castration from traps (TNR) and maintaining cat colonies have urged local governments to issue ordinances to allow the establishment and registration of cat colonies in local jurisdictions. But TNR and the management of large numbers of cats in colonies do not effectively control feline overpopulation. In addition, federal and state laws protecting endangered and threatened species are at odds with the practice of releasing non-native predators into the wild. An intensive public education campaign, as well as licensing incentives, animal control laws that impose heavy penalties for violations, and other methods to reduce the influx of non-native species into the wild, are essential elements of a long-term solution to pet overpopulation in general. and feline overpopulation in particular and the resulting predation of wildlife. Thanks for the comment, Aaron. I assume your pond is in your front yard where there is access for feral cats. People have created a very difficult problem through their negligence. There has to be a humane solution, and it`s TNR right now, but it`s slow, too slow for a lot of people.

Did you know that there are wild cats, because if so, it would have been a bad idea to build a pond in a place where they have access? Florida counties and municipalities typically enact animal control orders, sometimes called “leash laws,” that set out local government requirements for rabies vaccination, pet license tags, and pet leashes. Many of these local ordinances require dogs to be kept on their owner`s property, not to roam freely, to wear a license label, and to be kept on a leash when outside the owner. However, the same requirements are often not applied to cats. In addition, some local governments in Florida have issued ordinances authorizing TNR programs and maintaining cat colonies in their jurisdictions. By applying loggerhead turtle responsibility principles, a local government could be held accountable under the ESA for allowing cat colonies that result in the illegal removal of an endangered species by feral cats.