Animal laws

LA Animal Services

Los Angeles proposes a pause to the issuing of animal breeding licences

NEWS AND COMMENT: I’m told that Los Angeles City Council is considering a moratorium on the issuing of breeding licences. That means a pause to the issuing of permits to breed which I presume mainly means dog and cat breeders in the city of Los Angeles. The reason why the council wants to stop the …

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Brucella canis imported from Belarus in a rescue dog and the disease is spreading in the UK including to people because the disease is a zoonosis

Be aware of Brucella canis a new zoonosis in the UK

This is flagging up a zoonotic disease called Brucella canis in the UK. It affects dogs – but can it affect cats? – and it appears to have originated from rescue dogs imported from Eastern Europe into the UK. It is a bacterial infection and it is serious. Because it is zoonotic it can be …

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Can you own a caracal in Alabama

Are caracals legal in Alabama?

Of all the smaller wild cats the caracal is generally more predisposed to accepting the role of human pet! So, can a citizen of Alabama own/possess the medium-sized wild cat called the caracal as an exotic pet? Although Alabama prohibits the personal possession of many exotic animals it does not prohibit the ownership of caracals …

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pet pumas

Can you own a large wild cat in South Carolina?

No, you cannot own a large wild cat in South Carolina. What do they mean by a ‘large wild cat’? They mean these cat species: lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, and clouded leopards. The N. Carolina law (see the Federal Big Cat Public Safety Act further down which overlaps with this state …

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The claws of a pet caracal

Can you own a caracal in North Carolina?

Yes, you can own a caracal in North Carolina but you’ll need permit to import this medium-sized wild cat. The North Carolina law on this is limited and sparse. It is strange and also, in my honest opinion, poorly drafted. Here it is the relevant extract as I see it: EXOTIC ANIMALS There are no …

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Minimum age for cat or dog ownership UK and USA?

There’s a very different approach to youngsters owning cats in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In the latter the law is spelled out in a section of the country’s main animal welfare law: A person commits an offence if he sells an animal to a person whom he has reasonable cause to …

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New York State animal protection laws

New York State animal protection laws (with comments)

New York State’s animal protection laws are comprehensive and extensive which is unsurprising to me as it is one of just two US states which ban cat declawing (Aug 2023). The governing politicians are progressive. Because the law is extensive, I’ve focused on those parts that concern domestic cats and dogs together with other sections …

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Texas animal protection laws

Domestic animal protection laws of Texas. The law and its rank.

The animal welfare law protecting the domestic animals (pets) of Texas is encompassed within a statute that is much wider in its ambit and which also includes livestock. The law is called: PENAL CODE, TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY. The relevant section is under the heading ‘disorderly conduct and related offences’. It …

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Cat cruelty China

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China – two boys broke into a pet store and one threw a kitten around

NEWS AND VIEWS: This is a little cat story from China of the type with which we are familiar for those of us who know what is happening in China in the cat world. The video shows two young boys broke into a pet store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang on July 19th, 2023. It is a …

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First American animal welfare laws?

What were the first animal welfare laws of America?

It seems likely, but I can’t be absolutely sure, that the first American welfare laws in America were published in 1641 by the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts; settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees. You might have …

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Florida - cat's disappear after trapping

‘Any cat that goes on my property, I trap it and it disappears’ – Florida man

OPINION and comment on the latest news. Background: we know that in the United States there are many property owners who hate domestic and stray cats wandering onto their property. Cats can wander as they wish and there is no concept of trespassing for the humble domestic cat. This irritates a lot of people. Cat …

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Feral cat Hawaii

Is it legal to kill feral cats in Hawaii?

No, is the plain answer to the question in the title unless there are particular and unusual circumstances. We are able to say that with confidence because Hawaii’s legislature recently (early 2022) tried into pass a law (HB 1987) which permitted and indeed mandated the mass culling of feral cats by poisoning over a set …

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Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.
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