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History
- Referred to agriculture
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1508
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to agriculture
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to the disposition of cats
In Assembly Committee · Agriculture · Sponsor Angelo Santabarbara
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the disposition of cats
Purpose
To reduce the holding time for adoption of healthy stray cats whose owners are not known by way of collar identification or microchip to three (3) days.
Summary of provisions
This legislation would allow a duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, humane society or any municipal pound to put unidentifiable, healthy stray cats up for adoption after 3 days.
Justification
Statistics for 75 sheltering organizations in the State of New York show that 17,777 stray cats were admitted to those organizations in 2012. New York State Law currently requires that these cats are held for five business days prior to the sheltering organization taking ownership of them for the purposes of adoption or euthanasia. Generally this actually means 7 days total "holding" time for each cat. The law further states that stray cats may only be released from a shelter for the purposes of returning to owners, adoption or euthanasia.
Shelter administrators have long known that holding stray cats for 5 or more days is bad policy, both for the cats and for the agencies. Unfortunately animal shelters must house cats in close proximity to one another and disease can rapidly spread from cat to cat. Diseases such as upper respiratory infections are treatable but the treatment is time consuming and generally increases the length of stay by two weeks per cat. Some diseases, such as Panleukapenia are highly contagious and generally fatal to the cat, a high price to pay for a stray cat that has little chance of being reclaimed by its owner. Generally over 90% of stray cats brought to shelters are healthy but once spending a week being exposed to possible disease.
Legislative history
New legislation
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.