HOUSE BILL No. 4596

 

 

May 15, 2019, Introduced by Reps. Pohutsky, Hammoud, Brann, Tyrone Carter, Manoogian, Kuppa, Cambensy, Hertel, Whitsett and Brixie and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

 

     A bill to promote the welfare and care of community cats; to

 

promote the establishment and implementation of community cat

 

programs; and to exempt community cats and certain individuals and

 

organizations from certain statutes and local ordinances concerning

 

the care, treatment, and possession or ownership of cats.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Animal control officer" means a county, city, village, or

 

township animal control officer as described in sections 29a, 29b,

 

and 29c of the dog law of 1919, 1919 PA 339, MCL 287.289a,

 

287.289b, and 287.289c.

 

     (b) "Animal shelter" means an animal control shelter or animal

 

protection shelter as those terms are defined under section 1 of

1969 PA 287, MCL 287.331.

 

     (c) "Cat" means a member of the species Felis catus.

 

     (d) "Community cat" means a free-roaming cat that does not

 

have a visibly discernable, or microchip, identification. Community

 

cat includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

 

     (i) A cat that has been ear-tipped to indicate that the cat is

 

sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and currently part of a

 

community cat program.

 

     (ii) A cat that is known to be currently under the care of 1

 

or more residents in the area where the cat is found.

 

     (iii) A cat that is found outside with no valid

 

identification, or is not known to be under the care of 1 or more

 

residents in the area where the cat is found, that is brought to an

 

animal shelter and determined to not be sterilized, vaccinated

 

against rabies, or ear-tipped.

 

     (e) "Community cat caretaker" means a person that provides

 

care to a community cat in the form of food, water, shelter, and

 

veterinary care.

 

     (f) "Community cat colony" means a group of cats that

 

congregate together. Community cat colony includes a colony in

 

which community cats and cats that are owned by or in the

 

possession of a person, as determined by the law of this state or a

 

local ordinance, regulation, or resolution, congregate together.

 

     (g) "Community cat program" means a program under which a

 

community cat is humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated against

 

rabies, ear-tipped, and returned to the location where it was

 

found.

     (h) "Ear-tipped" means approximately 1/4 inch of the tip of a

 

cat's left ear has been removed in a straight line to indicate that

 

the animal has been sterilized and vaccinated against rabies.

 

     (i) "Sponsor" means an individual or organization that

 

humanely traps community cats and ensures that the cats are

 

sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-tipped before

 

returning them to the location where they were trapped. Sponsor

 

includes, but is not limited to, an animal shelter, a nonprofit

 

organization for animals, an animal rescue organization, or an

 

animal adoption organization.

 

     Sec. 2. The following do not apply to a community cat:

 

     (a) Any licensing requirement, at-large provision, or feeding

 

ban under a law of this state or under a local ordinance,

 

regulation, or resolution.

 

     (b) Any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation,

 

or resolution that applies to an animal that is owned by or in the

 

possession of a person, as determined by the law of this state or a

 

local ordinance, regulation, or resolution.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a sponsor that operates

 

a community cat program may release a community cat received by the

 

sponsor prior to the expiration of any required holding period for

 

stray animals imposed under a law of this state or a local

 

ordinance, regulation, or resolution. The sponsor may release the

 

community cat into the community at-large at the location where it

 

was found or to a sponsor that operates a community cat program.

 

     (2) A sponsor shall not release a community cat under

 

subsection (1) unless prior to its release the cat is, or is

determined to be, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and ear-

 

tipped. A sponsor shall not ear-tip a community cat unless the cat

 

is anesthetized during the procedure.

 

     Sec. 4. (1) A sponsor or community cat caretaker that is

 

operating as a participant in a community cat program shall not be

 

considered under any law of this state or any local ordinance,

 

regulation, or resolution the owner, custodian, harborer,

 

possessor, or keeper of a community cat that is under the care of

 

the sponsor or caretaker.

 

     (2) The care and treatment of a community cat is not exempt

 

from any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or

 

resolution that prohibits cruelty to or neglect of animals.

 

     (3) The release of a community cat at the location where it

 

was found, after sterilization, vaccination against rabies, and

 

ear-tipping, shall not be considered abandonment under any law of

 

this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution.

 

     (4) A sponsor or community cat caretaker shall maintain for

 

not less than 3 years the sterilization and rabies vaccination

 

records of a community cat that is or was in the care of the

 

sponsor or caretaker. The sponsor or caretaker shall make the

 

records available to an animal control officer upon reasonable

 

request.

 

     (5) This section does not limit the enforcement of any law of

 

this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or resolution that

 

requires the sterilization of a cat.

 

     (6) A community cat shall not be included in the number of

 

animals permitted to be owned by or under the care of a person

under any law of this state or any local ordinance, regulation, or

 

resolution as applied to a community cat sponsor or caretaker.

 

     (7) A sponsor or community cat caretaker shall make reasonable

 

efforts to do all of the following:

 

     (a) Ensure that a community cat that is under the care of the

 

sponsor or caretaker is sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, and

 

ear-tipped.

 

     (b) Humanely trap and remove socialized kittens and socialized

 

cats for adoptive placement.

 

     (c) Arrange for veterinary care for a community cat that is

 

suffering from illness or injury.

 

     Enacting section 1. This act takes effect January 1, 2020.