Pest Control Company Told That Anti-Cruelty Laws Apply to All Cats
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http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=558)
September 2008
Alley Cat Allies has put a national pest control company on notice that trapping and killing cats can result in criminal convictions for animal cruelty.
Last week we sent a letter to the CEO of Critter Control, alerting him that one of his franchise owners was found guilty on three counts of animal cruelty for killing three feral cats.
We forwarded that letter to 170 Critter Control franchise owners across the country.
Alley Cat Allies also urged Critter Control to remove a page from its website that contained inaccurate statements about anti-cruelty laws.
The page on Critter Control’s website suggested—wrongly—that unidentified cats are rarely protected under state laws.
“It’s simply untrue that acts of cruelty will be excused if the cats are not owned,” said Wendy M. Anderson, Alley Cat Allies Director of Law and Policy.
“Let’s set the record straight: anti-cruelty laws of all states and the District of Columbia apply to all cats—pet, abandoned, stray and feral. These laws exist to protect animals from human violence, regardless of ownership.”
To deter and prevent future killing, Alley Cat Allies took this action to ensure Critter Control and its franchise owners know that there are legal consequences for killing stray and feral cats.