Cat Protection in Jersey: Some Issues
The recent petition regarding the need to report cats hit by motor vehicles throws up a number of issues:
While it is extremely upsetting (I know, having buried many of my own cats over the years) to find a dead cat, clearly hit by the roadside, these are questions which must be asked.
What legal measures might look like?
Looking at the USA, we see various measures in place. In Portsmouth, USA, for example, there are very direct laws:
“In Portsmouth, cats are covered more directly. The city has an ordinance Section 6.713: “Abandonment of Animals,” which states ”... It shall be unlawful for any person who, while operating a motor vehicle on any public way in the city, strikes and injures or kills any dog, cat or domestic animal, to continue without stopping such vehicle at the scene as soon as possible, to render aid and assistance to such animal.””
Here the drivers who hit a cat have to report it to the pet owner or police officer either at the scene or at the nearest police station or they can be issued a summons, and the fee schedule for that would be $50 for a first offense, $75 second, and $100 for the third (and each subsequent offense).
Who pays for care?
Then there’s the question of who pays for the care of an animal that’s hit if the owner cannot be found, which is something raised by Victoria MacDonald in the USA:
“Unfortunately, there’s no cut-and-dry solution for the animals,” said Virginia MacDonald, of the NHSPCA (New Hampshire SPCA). “We really handle it on a case-by-case basis. What we’re hoping is, obviously, to put the animal’s best interests in mind. Because this cat or dog has a potential owner, we can contact the owner and they can step in as soon as possible.”
If people call in having found an animal that was hit, the NHSPCA will sometimes ask if they will take on the responsibility of bringing the animal to the vet and if the owner cannot be found and the vet will not donate their services for all the medical attention required, to help with the bill.
“Certainly, we’ll help out to try to find the owner. But, we’re a nonprofit organization. We don’t have an endless pocketbook, either. It’s a tough situation,” MacDonald said. “The NHSPCA is absolutely there for you, but it’s also a partnership with the community. ... We don’t have this endless pot. If people behave in a humane manner, that only benefits the entire community.”
She recalls trying to be a good Samaritan herself once, after finding a dead animal on the side of the road: “I tried to do the right thing. I went to the police, I went to the neighbors, I tried to find the owner and never did,” MacDonald said. “And this was somebody’s pet. One of the big messages is to put an ID on your dog or your cat.”
Why dogs are different?
Another article makes clear why dogs are different. They are expected to be controlled, and not just wander loose, so that the dog owner is as much to blame as the driver. However this is not the same with cats, and no one has ever advocated keeping cats in such a controlled fashion to avoid accidents. As Dan Elsom reports:
Jacqui Cuff, head of advocacy and government relations at Cats Protection, said: “It is commonly thought that road traffic accidents involving dogs have to be reported to the police so that owners are notified their dog has been involved.
"However, the legal reasoning behind the requirement to report for dogs is two-fold. Firstly, accidents involving dogs are more likely in the eyes of the law to lead to damage, either to property or people, so drivers need to report the details to the police to establish liability.
"Secondly, dogs are required to wear collars and be kept on a lead on the highway so drivers need to report accidents involving dogs in case an offence has been committed by the owner. We don’t have this argument for cats as they can roam freely.
“That said, we would always urge anyone who injures a cat while driving to take the cat to a vet for emergency treatment or report it to the police as it is most likely someone’s pet and it can be heartbreaking for owners not to know what has become of a missing animal."
So how could matters be improved?
Hugo Griffiths reported on a car buyer survey in the UK which suggests a mood for change, albeit 59% - more than half, but still not as much as perhaps one would like:
Drivers who run over cats on the road should have to report it to the authorities, an exclusive Carbuyer survey has found, with 59% of 1,600 readers saying the requirement to do so if you run over a dog should be extended to felines.
Those results closely echo a new 'Animal Welfare Plan' policy proposal from the Labour Party, part of which would “require motorists to report accidents where an animal has been injured”.
Present rules mandate that motorists who hit a dog must report the incident to the police, yet hitting a cat requires no action from the driver at all.
And while reporting so many dead cats to the police would be problematic, more could still be done – not least because only 25% of cats struck on the road are said to survive their initial injuries, meaning many are left to suffer and pass away at the roadside instead of receiving medical attention.
An RSPCA spokesman told Carbuyer the organisation “would always encourage people to stop [and] see if they can help the cat by taking it to a vet for treatment”. The animal charity added that Highways England could also do more to help, as in 2016 it “agreed to scan dogs found dead on roads for microchips so their owner could be traced”. The RSPCA would “like to see the same [policy] for cats”.
What advice can be given now?
Cats Protection offers the following advice to anyone who discovers an injured cat:
If the cat can be moved, take him to a vet and inform them that you are not the owner. If the cat can’t be identified, inform your local community that you have discovered an injured cat and taken it to the vet. Putting up posters may help raise awareness and inform the owners of their cat’s whereabouts.
What might a law look like? A Private Cats Bill
An MP wants to make it illegal for motorists to drive away if their vehicle hits a cat 'The Cat Bill' would create a new law, which would make it a crime to drive off after hitting a cat. This means that a law could be amended and adopted for Jersey without reinventing the wheel, should such a thing be desired.
The bill - proposed by Tory MP Rehman Chishti - will "require the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat to stop and give information or report the accident to the police", according Parliament’s website .
Summary of the Cats Bill 2017-19
A Bill to require the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat to stop and give information or report the accident to the police; to require the keepers of certain cats to ensure they are microchipped; and for connected purposes.
References
https://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20030428/NEWS/304289994
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/5585504/this-is-why-you-dont-have-to-report-running-over-a-cat-to-police-but-you-must-for-dogs-is-it-fair/
https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/162554/drivers-call-for-equal-rights-for-cats-and-dogs
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cat-run-over-law-hit-15978253
The recent petition regarding the need to report cats hit by motor vehicles throws up a number of issues:
- How will fines be administered and what scale?
- How can pets be identified easily? With dogs it is usually simple, as they often have collars, name tags, and are chipped for easy biometric id.
- If a cat is taken to the JSPCA, will the owner (if traceable) be liable for care? Or if not, will the cost be suffered by the JSPCA? Or by the States?
- What might a law look like?
While it is extremely upsetting (I know, having buried many of my own cats over the years) to find a dead cat, clearly hit by the roadside, these are questions which must be asked.
What legal measures might look like?
Looking at the USA, we see various measures in place. In Portsmouth, USA, for example, there are very direct laws:
“In Portsmouth, cats are covered more directly. The city has an ordinance Section 6.713: “Abandonment of Animals,” which states ”... It shall be unlawful for any person who, while operating a motor vehicle on any public way in the city, strikes and injures or kills any dog, cat or domestic animal, to continue without stopping such vehicle at the scene as soon as possible, to render aid and assistance to such animal.””
Here the drivers who hit a cat have to report it to the pet owner or police officer either at the scene or at the nearest police station or they can be issued a summons, and the fee schedule for that would be $50 for a first offense, $75 second, and $100 for the third (and each subsequent offense).
Who pays for care?
Then there’s the question of who pays for the care of an animal that’s hit if the owner cannot be found, which is something raised by Victoria MacDonald in the USA:
“Unfortunately, there’s no cut-and-dry solution for the animals,” said Virginia MacDonald, of the NHSPCA (New Hampshire SPCA). “We really handle it on a case-by-case basis. What we’re hoping is, obviously, to put the animal’s best interests in mind. Because this cat or dog has a potential owner, we can contact the owner and they can step in as soon as possible.”
If people call in having found an animal that was hit, the NHSPCA will sometimes ask if they will take on the responsibility of bringing the animal to the vet and if the owner cannot be found and the vet will not donate their services for all the medical attention required, to help with the bill.
“Certainly, we’ll help out to try to find the owner. But, we’re a nonprofit organization. We don’t have an endless pocketbook, either. It’s a tough situation,” MacDonald said. “The NHSPCA is absolutely there for you, but it’s also a partnership with the community. ... We don’t have this endless pot. If people behave in a humane manner, that only benefits the entire community.”
She recalls trying to be a good Samaritan herself once, after finding a dead animal on the side of the road: “I tried to do the right thing. I went to the police, I went to the neighbors, I tried to find the owner and never did,” MacDonald said. “And this was somebody’s pet. One of the big messages is to put an ID on your dog or your cat.”
Why dogs are different?
Another article makes clear why dogs are different. They are expected to be controlled, and not just wander loose, so that the dog owner is as much to blame as the driver. However this is not the same with cats, and no one has ever advocated keeping cats in such a controlled fashion to avoid accidents. As Dan Elsom reports:
Jacqui Cuff, head of advocacy and government relations at Cats Protection, said: “It is commonly thought that road traffic accidents involving dogs have to be reported to the police so that owners are notified their dog has been involved.
"However, the legal reasoning behind the requirement to report for dogs is two-fold. Firstly, accidents involving dogs are more likely in the eyes of the law to lead to damage, either to property or people, so drivers need to report the details to the police to establish liability.
"Secondly, dogs are required to wear collars and be kept on a lead on the highway so drivers need to report accidents involving dogs in case an offence has been committed by the owner. We don’t have this argument for cats as they can roam freely.
“That said, we would always urge anyone who injures a cat while driving to take the cat to a vet for emergency treatment or report it to the police as it is most likely someone’s pet and it can be heartbreaking for owners not to know what has become of a missing animal."
So how could matters be improved?
Hugo Griffiths reported on a car buyer survey in the UK which suggests a mood for change, albeit 59% - more than half, but still not as much as perhaps one would like:
Drivers who run over cats on the road should have to report it to the authorities, an exclusive Carbuyer survey has found, with 59% of 1,600 readers saying the requirement to do so if you run over a dog should be extended to felines.
Those results closely echo a new 'Animal Welfare Plan' policy proposal from the Labour Party, part of which would “require motorists to report accidents where an animal has been injured”.
Present rules mandate that motorists who hit a dog must report the incident to the police, yet hitting a cat requires no action from the driver at all.
And while reporting so many dead cats to the police would be problematic, more could still be done – not least because only 25% of cats struck on the road are said to survive their initial injuries, meaning many are left to suffer and pass away at the roadside instead of receiving medical attention.
An RSPCA spokesman told Carbuyer the organisation “would always encourage people to stop [and] see if they can help the cat by taking it to a vet for treatment”. The animal charity added that Highways England could also do more to help, as in 2016 it “agreed to scan dogs found dead on roads for microchips so their owner could be traced”. The RSPCA would “like to see the same [policy] for cats”.
What advice can be given now?
Cats Protection offers the following advice to anyone who discovers an injured cat:
If the cat can be moved, take him to a vet and inform them that you are not the owner. If the cat can’t be identified, inform your local community that you have discovered an injured cat and taken it to the vet. Putting up posters may help raise awareness and inform the owners of their cat’s whereabouts.
What might a law look like? A Private Cats Bill
An MP wants to make it illegal for motorists to drive away if their vehicle hits a cat 'The Cat Bill' would create a new law, which would make it a crime to drive off after hitting a cat. This means that a law could be amended and adopted for Jersey without reinventing the wheel, should such a thing be desired.
The bill - proposed by Tory MP Rehman Chishti - will "require the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat to stop and give information or report the accident to the police", according Parliament’s website .
Summary of the Cats Bill 2017-19
A Bill to require the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat to stop and give information or report the accident to the police; to require the keepers of certain cats to ensure they are microchipped; and for connected purposes.
References
https://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20030428/NEWS/304289994
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/5585504/this-is-why-you-dont-have-to-report-running-over-a-cat-to-police-but-you-must-for-dogs-is-it-fair/
https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/162554/drivers-call-for-equal-rights-for-cats-and-dogs
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cat-run-over-law-hit-15978253
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