A new law pertaining to stray cats in Erie County, New York was adopted as local law on Thursday by the Legislature. A stray cat will be able to go to a new home faster, the time being cut from five days in an animal shelter to three. This article is a discussion on whether this is a good or a bad idea.
Is this law really a good move? Legislature Chairman Peter Savage introduced the bill and believes this will get cats out of the shelter and into forever homes faster. Savage says the advantages of social media and microchipping helps lost pets reunite with family more quickly.
My question is whether the new law may also get them killed faster. And does it really give the family missing a cat who isn’t microchipped enough time to search for and find their cat? My guess is many cats will already be in a new home and the family will learn about their lost kitty being adopted only days after it went missing.
A cat may be adopted out faster so I can only assume the law would allow a cat to be euthanized faster for space. Shelters and rescues are already overwhelmed and there seems to be very little ‘down time’ when it comes to dealing with unspayed mama cats and unwanted kittens.
Chairman Savage said during a March 22 interview with WBFO News
“We’ve learned through number of testimonies we’ve heard in committee hearings and in public hearings is that adopting animals is the best thing that any shelter can do. Following that hold period, they can’t vaccinate them, they can’t spay them, they can’t did them some of the other resources that they need, and this will allow for them to be adopted on a much more efficient basis.”
While his intentions are good, I hope this new law will urge more cat owners to microchip their cats, just in case the three-day rule also means the cat will be killed on the first day allowed by law.
The local government may be putting too much faith in social media, as a lot of people don’t get on Facebook or Instagram. It would be nice to get a truly stray cat with no owner into a home ASAP. On the flipside, several cases have recently made the news on animals being adopted while the owner was still searching.
What do you think of cutting the time down to three days? Please feel free to comment in the Facebook or moderated sections below.
