Cat-trapping law will be subject of hearing

KINGSTON, N.Y. » A proposal to regulate the trapping of stray and feral cats — and the use of euthanasia on those animals — will be the subject of a public hearing in May.

The Ulster County Legislature voted unanimously to hold a public hearing at 6:15 p.m. May 8 on the local law proposed by Legislator Laura Petit, I-Port Ewen.

Under the proposed law, any organization, operation or individual planning to set up traps would have to post notices with the local town clerk and at all residences within 1,000 feet of where the trapping will occur. Notice would have to proceed trapping by five days.

An amendment to the proposed local law, made Tuesday, would exempt individuals or rescue groups who trap stray and feral cats for the purpose of providing medical treatment, including sterilization of the animals, by a licensed veterinarian. That amendment also would exempt the many trap-neuter-return groups that operate within the county.

The law also would require anyone trapping cats to immediately release any that have with “tipped ears,” which signifies a cat has been spayed or neutered. All other trapped cats would have to be scanned for identifying microchips and be held for at least seven days. Cats deemed feral would have to be sterilized, have their ears tipped and be returned to within 50 feet of where they were trapped.

The law also would prohibit anyone other than a licensed veterinarian from euthanizing any cats caught as part of a trapping operation.

Feral cats either once were pets but turned wild after being abandoned or lost, or are the offspring of those animals. They sometimes live alone but more often live in colonies. They mostly retreat from human contact, but in some instances, they can become emboldened, brazen and potentially dangerous.

The conflict over how best to deal with feral cat colonies stirred a fierce debate last year over the practices of the town of Rochester-based nonprofit group Project Cat, whose owner, Gail Mihocko, is a staunch opponent of the trap-neuter-return practice employed by most animal rescue groups. Mihocko, who is not a licensed veterinarian, has likened feral cats to an invasive species and says euthanasia is more humane than allowing feral cats to roam wild, where they can die from injuries, illnesses or fall prey to other animals.

Because Michocko is not a licensed veterinarian, she would not be permitted under the proposed local law to euthanize the cats she traps.