Tabby cat in a flowering bush
The San Diego Humane Society's Community Cat Program — which releases some cats back into the community and which a judge originally ruled was unlawful — now complies with state law following a series of policy revisions, a judge ruled this week.
The program was challenged in court by a coalition of animal rights groups who alleged the San Diego Humane Society was turning away adoptable cats that it was required to care for under the law.
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WATCH HEREThe San Diego Humane Society calls the program a compassionate approach to caring for free-roaming, un-owned cats, which also helps manage populations in its oft-overcrowded animal shelters. When an owner cannot be verified for a cat, the animal is sterilized, vaccinated and returned to the community.
Following a bench trial, San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled late last year that the San Diego Humane Society had at times considered cats to be un-owned while there were indications of prior ownership. She also ruled the program was too restrictive in how it admitted kittens, as the judge said kittens should generally be admitted to shelters as they are less likely to thrive outdoors on their own.
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SIGN UP In a final ruling issued Monday, Bacal wrote that the humane society has since revised its Community Cat Program policies in a way that now complies with state law. Those revisions include new considerations that San Diego Humane Society officials should take into account when considering whether a cat has an owner, including if the cat has indentations around its neck to indicate the recent presence of a collar or signs that the feline has received recent veterinary or medical treatment. If sufficient signs of ownership are found, the cat should be admitted into a shelter, the ruling states.
"This ruling is a resounding endorsement of our evidence-based, expert-endorsed, lifesaving approach to community cats," San Diego Humane Society president and CEO Gary Weitzman said in a statement released this week. "It allows us to continue providing critical medical care, spay/neuter and safe return for unowned cats while reserving shelter space for animals who truly need it."
Bryan Pease, attorney for plaintiffs such as the Pet Assistance Foundation, however, disagreed with the humane society's characterization of Monday's ruling and said it only highlights the plaintiffs' concerns that led to Bacal's original preliminary injunction against the San Diego Humane Society.
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"This is a major victory for the plaintiffs and the public, including the many witnesses who testified at trial, in holding San Diego Humane Society accountable for its illegal actions in abandoning cats outdoors," Pease said in a statement regarding Monday's ruling. "The court found that SDHS's actions were illegal and issued a permanent injunction requiring them to admit stray and abandoned cats into the shelter for care and adoption services who SDHS previously would have dumped out on the street like garbage, to be killed by cars, eaten by coyotes, or starve and dehydrate to death."
