The San Diego Humane Society’s Community Cats Program now complies with state law following a series of policy revisions, a judge ruled this week.
The program, which releases some cats back into the community, had been ruled unlawful in December following a court challenge by a coalition of animal rights groups. They alleged that the Humane Society was turning away adoptable cats that it was required to care for under the law.
The local Humane Society calls the program a compassionate approach to caring for free-roaming, unowned cats, which also helps manage populations in oft-overcrowded animal shelters.
When an owner cannot be verified, 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 Humane Society had at times considered felines to be unowned 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.
In a final ruling issued Monday, Bacal wrote that the organization has since revised its Community Cat Program policies in a way that complies with state law.
Those revisions include new considerations that Humane Society officials should take to consider a cat as having an owner, such as whether the cat has indentations around its neck to indicate the recent presence of a collar or signs that the cat 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.
According to the Humane Society, “the ruling outright rejects plaintiff’s request that a cat’s socialization status be considered when determining a cat’s eligibility for the program – the issue at the heart of the case all along.”
Humane Society president and CEO Gary Weitzman said in a statement, “This ruling is a resounding endorsement of our evidence-based, expert-endorsed, lifesaving approach to community cats. 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.”
But Bryan Pease, attorney for plaintiffs such as the Pet Assistance Foundation, disagreed with the Humane Society’s characterization of the latest ruling, instead calling it “a major victory” for his clients.
Pease said in another statement, “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” when “SDHS previously would have dumped (them) out on the street like garbage, to be killed by cars, eaten by coyotes, or starve and dehydrate to death.”
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