Bensalem Tonwship Cruelty Laws & Animal Ordinances
There are no cookie-cutter laws when it comes to feral or stray cats. For this reason, according to the Best Friends Animal Society, Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs may look different from community to community.
However, there are a few key legal issues that will continue to have an impact on Bensalem's TNR efforts, and like efforts around the country. First and foremost, Animal Abandonment is a Crime.
Are you moving and can't take your pet with you? Has pet ownership become an inconvenience or perhaps too costly? Are you no longer able to care for your pet due to health issues, a new relationship, or a change in lifestyle? Every day, thousands of pet owners around the country face these circumstances. And, every day, too many irresponsible owners choose the wrong solution. Instead of bringing their pet to the local animal shelter or finding their pet a new home with friends or family, they instead choose to leave their pet behind, abandoned in emptied apartments, or dumped in nearby parks, woods or parking lots.
These animals, once dependent upon humans for food and shelter, are now left to fend for themselves. Some simply cannot. Unable to hunt or find safe haven, they succumb to starvation and the elements of nature. Those that are able to eke out a living may face a short and difficult life, eventually falling victim to disease or predators or passing traffic. Those that are unaltered will reproduce, usually numerous times, passing on this fate to countless generations of offspring. Unlike their domesticated originator, however, these offspring will be born in the wild, unfamiliar with and scared of human beings - or, in other words, feral.
The dumping and abandonment of family pets: This is how feral cat colonies begin. It is animal cruelty, and it is illegal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Owners who abandon their pets in Bensalem Township will be sought and charged.
In answer to TNR critics, returning spayed or neutered community cats to the location where they were originally trapped does not constitute an act of abandonment in Bensalem Township. Sterilizing cats, vaccinating them, and giving them a wellness check all contribute to improving the cats’ lives, and are in no way considered acts of animal cruelty.
Bensalem currently has a draft ordinance pertaining to the care of community cat colonies. Whether an individual volunteer, a township employee, a rescue group or nonprofit, being a colony caregiver does not grant you"ownership" of its cats, but does obligate you to adhere to specific, mandated standards. Caregivers must provide the cats with enough food for every member of the colony and at a minimum of one feeding per day; as well as with safe, unobtrusive and properly sized shelter. Caregivers must also ensure the cats' medical care on a regular basis. In cases where the medical care required may be too costly or extensive, caregivers have an obligation to pursue humane euthanasia to minimize or alleviate an animal's suffering. Caregivers who violate these requirements, as well as anyone who tries removing an established colony could face a fine of $100 to $500.
Finally, Bensalem Township believes that animal cruelty should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - regardless of whether an animal is someone's pet or a community cat. The direct link between violence against animals and violence against people has long been proven, and animal cruelty laws were developed to protect society itself. Violence is never the solution. Intentionally harming a cat is a criminal offense and will be tried as such, regardless of ownership.
However, there are a few key legal issues that will continue to have an impact on Bensalem's TNR efforts, and like efforts around the country. First and foremost, Animal Abandonment is a Crime.
Are you moving and can't take your pet with you? Has pet ownership become an inconvenience or perhaps too costly? Are you no longer able to care for your pet due to health issues, a new relationship, or a change in lifestyle? Every day, thousands of pet owners around the country face these circumstances. And, every day, too many irresponsible owners choose the wrong solution. Instead of bringing their pet to the local animal shelter or finding their pet a new home with friends or family, they instead choose to leave their pet behind, abandoned in emptied apartments, or dumped in nearby parks, woods or parking lots.
These animals, once dependent upon humans for food and shelter, are now left to fend for themselves. Some simply cannot. Unable to hunt or find safe haven, they succumb to starvation and the elements of nature. Those that are able to eke out a living may face a short and difficult life, eventually falling victim to disease or predators or passing traffic. Those that are unaltered will reproduce, usually numerous times, passing on this fate to countless generations of offspring. Unlike their domesticated originator, however, these offspring will be born in the wild, unfamiliar with and scared of human beings - or, in other words, feral.
The dumping and abandonment of family pets: This is how feral cat colonies begin. It is animal cruelty, and it is illegal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Owners who abandon their pets in Bensalem Township will be sought and charged.
In answer to TNR critics, returning spayed or neutered community cats to the location where they were originally trapped does not constitute an act of abandonment in Bensalem Township. Sterilizing cats, vaccinating them, and giving them a wellness check all contribute to improving the cats’ lives, and are in no way considered acts of animal cruelty.
Bensalem currently has a draft ordinance pertaining to the care of community cat colonies. Whether an individual volunteer, a township employee, a rescue group or nonprofit, being a colony caregiver does not grant you"ownership" of its cats, but does obligate you to adhere to specific, mandated standards. Caregivers must provide the cats with enough food for every member of the colony and at a minimum of one feeding per day; as well as with safe, unobtrusive and properly sized shelter. Caregivers must also ensure the cats' medical care on a regular basis. In cases where the medical care required may be too costly or extensive, caregivers have an obligation to pursue humane euthanasia to minimize or alleviate an animal's suffering. Caregivers who violate these requirements, as well as anyone who tries removing an established colony could face a fine of $100 to $500.
Finally, Bensalem Township believes that animal cruelty should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - regardless of whether an animal is someone's pet or a community cat. The direct link between violence against animals and violence against people has long been proven, and animal cruelty laws were developed to protect society itself. Violence is never the solution. Intentionally harming a cat is a criminal offense and will be tried as such, regardless of ownership.