To outsiders “PA” means the state of Pennsylvania, USA. I have answered the question “off paper” by which I mean through research rather than relying on first hand experiences. If anyone can add first-hand experience (excluding trolls such as Woodsman001) I’d be happy to publish their comment.
The answer to the question in the title lies in the overlap of the following issues:
- Statutory law regarding animal cruelty in Pennsylvania (5511)
- Hunting regulations in the state
- Pest control in the state
- Control of ‘nuisance animals’
NOTICE: BEFORE I ADDRESS THESE 4 ISSUES, I CAN CONFIRM THAT I HAVE TELEPHONED THE PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION ON 717 787 4250 AND SPOKEN WITH THEM. THEY TELL ME UNEQUIVOCALLY THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHOOT FERAL CATS IN PA. THIS IS DEFINITIVE AND UNARGUABLE.
Regarding killing, Pennsylvania’s animal cruelty laws concern domestic or zoo animals as stated in the first line. However, the law clearly states that a person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he willfully and maliciously kills, maims, mutilates, tortures or disfigures any dog or cat whether belonging to himself or otherwise.
The word “otherwise” must mean a cat belonging to somebody else or belonging to nobody which in turn must apply to feral cats and stray cats (Section 5511 cruelty to animals).
Also, I have stated several times before, how is a shooter able to distinguish between a feral, stray or domestic cat? And let’s be clear, many feral cats are semi-domesticated. Would that or should that place them under the protection of the law? Therefore, on a practical level it is highly unwise and should not be attempted. A person shooting a cat that he thought was feral could well end up in the criminal and civil courts expending a pile of money on his defense and still find himself in jail and massively out of pocket.
The forum huntingpa.com (a hunting website) backs up what I have stated. It states that “owned and loose, stray, and feral; killing them is against the law”.
Hunting
You might expect that the hunting regulations and pest control regulations of Pennsylvania refer to feral cats specifically allowing them to be culled or exterminated at will by the citizens of the state. However, I can find no reference to feral cats in the law regarding hunting in this state therefore it cannot be said that shooters have permission under hunting regulations. The reason is the impossibility of distinguishing feral from domestic.
In another article on whether hunters can shoot feral cats in Wisconsin I telephoned the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and spoke to a lady there who told me, and agree with me, that it is illegal to shoot feral cats in that state. We agreed that it is impossible to distinguish between feral and domestic cats at a distance and therefore to allow the shooting of feral cats would also allow the shooting of domestic cats. Also, feral cats are not regarded as ‘wild mammals’ and therefore cannot fall within the context of unprotected species in Wisconsin. I’m sure that a very similar regulation applies to PA.
RELATED: Is It Legal to Shoot Feral Cats in Wisconsin?
Pest
As for pests, a Pennsylvania state website (extension.psu.edu) refers to invasive species. They say they can be pests. They list them. The feral cat is not on the list. Therefore, feral cats are neither invasive species nor pests as listed by the authorities in this state and therefore cannot be dealt with under this heading.
Nuisance
As for nuisance animals, feral cats could fall under this heading. The extension.psu.edu website states that “shooting live ammunition, whether to frighten or kill, has limited application. Generally, live ammunition may only be fired during hunting season or under permit”. Therefore, we have to fall back on hunting regs referred to above. And once again there is always the overriding issue of distinguishing feral from domestic.
Self-defense
Exceptionally rarely a person may have to kill a cat, either domestic or feral, who is attacking them. They may shoot the cat and therefore under the circumstances they may raise the defence in court that they shot the cat in self-defence. This would be unfortunate because whenever a cat attacks somebody it is, in my opinion, the person’s fault unless the cat has rabies.
Conclusion
It is illegal to shoot feral cats in Pennsylvania. My telephone call to the Pennsylvania Game Commission confirms that. I had quite a nice conversation with the gentleman at the Commission. We agreed that it is impractical in any event to allow people to shoot feral cats because you cannot, as explained above, tell the difference between someone’s pet and a genuine feral cat at a distance. Also, as explained above, the law encompasses unowned cats so this article puts to rest the argument. Cat shooters will try and shoot the argument down! They will be wrong. Don’t listen to them.
I get it Joe. I never understood it either, but again its not as easy as just killing them all. I get what you are saying. Many areas are new to the TNR(trap, neuter/spay, release) programs. So get it started. Go to a community meeting. Ask the neighbor to work with you in spaying and neutering these cats. You need a feeder to be on board. Again, if it was as easy as killing them, it would have been resolved in Australia by now. Its not. Look it up. They are still trying to resolve it the easy way. They still can’t make a dent in it.
I started TNRing in west Pittsburgh, PA communities. I am close to 800 cats in about 8 years. Its hard, mostly because people are not aware of the problems with not spaying and neutering. They just don’t understand until they are 20 deep in cats. Sure your neighbor could stop feeding. It won’t stop the cats from continuing. If it were that easy. They will just use hunting skills and be more diseased and still be everywhere. They are a smart animal. They will do everything to survive.
First most cats are going to be protective of their young. Common knowledge, moms kick butt. You don’t mess with moms. Because it is a smaller animal you think that makes a difference. It’s like messing with a mama bear. Don’t do it. Keep your dog away from them. They are not his buddies. He can chase them off his property, but don’t let him go looking for them. Since they are not vaccinated, you don’t know what they may or may not have. Keep your dog in a fenced yard, on a leash, or on a lead.
Again I understand your frustration. It would make no difference if there was a feeder or not. Those cats would and will survive otherwise. Work with the neighbor to combat the problem. That is what I did and now I work with neighboring areas to control their population. I’m not saying you need to be an advocate, but learn to not expect others to resolve a problem that you can help to solve. Get a couple of racoon traps, watch some videos, and do it. Its hard at first, but you will see results. Work with the neighbor, you need her to not feed the day before trapping. Email me, I’m more than happy to help you get started. 🙂
Again, if it was as easy as killing them, we would not have a problem. I know that is ghastly to some people but think about it. I had a call that coyotes were killing cats and I should go in the woods and see the bodies. First, not doing that. Second, I advised them while it is concerning, we still have a cat problem. It will not solve the first problem. Humans dumping cats. Until you educate people about spaying and neutering, making it not ok to just dump an animal, and just on animal welfare, you will not resolve the cat feral or otherwise problem in all countries across this rock.
TNR(Trap, Neuter/Spay, Return) works. We just need everyone on board and a major marketing campaign on spaying and neutering your pets.
There is a hawk program along with an eagle program that is quite active in PA and in other areas. I beg to differ it’s the cats. I would have to see real research other than I see cats outside and that has to be the reason. The bird population or its decimation is questionable. The numbers don’t make sense to me. If we are losing that many birds, how am I seeing any birds? It does not make sense and I beg to differ with the Audubon society on their calculations. They are the only ones with these numbers. I still have all kinds of birds, etc. If you put out food, you will see all the birds, squirrels, chipmunks etc. Other wildlife is in the mix also. Again, what are you doing with cats in the city streets. You can’t just put down poison, shoot them, or otherwise without possibly harming other animals and people.
Reality you can’t go shooting feral(community) cats in a city neighborhood. How does that work? What are you going to do poison them? Use a bow and arrow? What if a bird eats it instead? Or a child? I dare to say that most countries that have used killing as an option with feral cats have not contained the problem. They never will. Cats adapt, they are smart, and will survive. Humans put them there. It’s time for an aggressive worldwide TNR (trap, neuter/spay, return) program with a major marketing campaign on education of spay and neutering of all pets.
Australia has not gotten control of the feral cat population. You have tried, but it has failed miserably. You have thought by just going out and killing as many as you can it would resolve the problem. Until you educate, have a standard TNR(trap, Neuter/spay, return) program you will get nowhere. You have tried for years and yet even looking at the news today you still have a problem you think you can kill your way out of it. It won’t work. Time to come up with a new plan Australia. TNR aggressively. Its your only hope. Major educational marketing program. Australians put the cats outdoors to survive. They survived and more. Australians will have to learn you can’t kill your way out of this one. Cats will and can survive it. They are smart. Its time to try an aggressive TNR and educational program.
They are outside because humans put them there. These are not a breed of “wild” cats. They are wild because humans put them there and they have survived. If it were as easy as culling feral cats and problem solved, it would have been done in another location or country for that matter. The fact remains that it just opens up for another group of cats to take over the area. Until people work to spay and neuter and be responsible pet owners, feral cats or as I like to call them community cats will remain.
Dogs will kill also if left to their own resources and expected to survive on their own. If you include cats you include wild dogs that are found in our most southern regions.
I know this comment was meant to fish for atrocious comments but let’s try to be civil and think for a moment. Use common sense to find a solution. TNR(trap, neuter/spay, return) works. It needs to be a staple iin all states.