| 6/12/2006 |
Mandatory cat spay/neuter bills signed into law
The governor late Friday signed into law two bills to establish a breeder permit program for cats, featuring a spay/neuter program to control the cat population in the state.
The two bills signed into law are (2006 - H7906Aaa), sponsored by House Speaker Tempore Charlene M. Lima (D-Dist. 14, Cranston) and (2006 - S2014B), sponsored by Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Smithfield).
The legislation was introduced to address the number of healthy but abandoned cats being euthanized every year in Rhode Island. The bills’ sponsors said the breeder permit program and spay/neuter regulations will help to significantly control the cat population in the state and prevent thousands of malnourished and ill feral cats from being put to death.
“Many feral cats are sick, malnourished or injured from fights with other animals. Over 2000 of them are put to death each year, simply because they could not find adoptive homes,” said Representative Lima. “This permit system, along with the spay/neuter program, does not solve all of the problems, but it will greatly reduce the number of animals that are put to death each year.”
“A permit system for breeding cats combined with a program for spaying or neutering is a reasonable and effective means of reducing the large population of abandoned cats,” said Senator Tassoni. “These programs will very certainly have a positive impact on the health and safety of residents of our state, since an uncontrolled cat population can lead to a number of problems, such as transmission of disease.”
Under the legislation, each city or town animal control officer would be responsible for issuing permits for unaltered cats and, where applicable, administering a breeding permit program, according to and in compliance with procedures established by a city or town ordinance. Each applicant for a breeder permit or permit for an unaltered cat would pay an annual permit fee of $100 per cat and would be subject to several requirements. Among those requirements are that no offspring may be sold or adopted until reaching an age of at least eight weeks, that no offspring may be sold or adopted until immunized against common diseases and that the permit holder would adhere to minimum standards regarding the care and keeping of animals.
According to the Department of Environmental Management, from 2002 to 2004, the 39 municipal pounds and eight private shelters in Rhode Island euthanized nearly 7,000 cats.
For more information, contact:
Shana Mancinho, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2457 |
LEGISLATIVE INFO
