Let's set the record straight in Prince George's County.

In this post, I'll be referring to applicable laws. In addition to the U.S. Constitution, I'll cite the Maryland Code such as "10-602", the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) such as "10.06.02.02", and the Prince George's County Statute, Subtitle 3, "Animal Control" such as "3-101".

"It is illegal to feed", Government Overreach and the Rule of Law

First of all, there IS NO LAW banning the feeding of feral cats. The employees of the PG Animal Management Division are simply making it up, as they have been instructed to by their superior.

This is a serious matter. Enforcing imaginary laws is "Government Overreach" and it is unconstitutional.

The "Rule of Law" means that the government must be constrained by the same law that it enforces on the people. Government which is not constrained by the law is known as "Tyranny".

"Animals" in P.G. County

In PG County, animals fall into two classes: domestic and wild. 3-101(11), 3-101(77) Domestic animals are owned by people as pets, or as livestock. Wild animals can not be owned. (Zoos have a "license for keeping".) This is based on a millennium of common law (collective rulings by the courts). Both the P.G. County Statute and the Maryland State Regulations agree that feral animals are wild. 9-101(43), 10.06.02.02(31) Therefore, feral animals do not have, and CAN NOT HAVE an owner by law.

The "Good Samaritan" and the "Animal Abuser"

When you feed an animal your are exercising your right to be a Good Samaritan. Even though you are under no obligation to do it, you do it out of your generous compassion. However, when a person PROHIBITS the feeding of an animal, THAT is the very definition of animal cruelty. 10-604 When an ACO demands that you NOT feed an animal, the ACO is committing Animal Cruelty.

Types of Nuisances

In PG County, there are two types of nuisances that AMD has responsibility for, Nuisance Animal (barking dog, etc.) and Nuisance Condition (Property) (trash not taken out, mess attracting rats, etc.). 3-101(66), 3-101(67)

AMD employees make a lot of allegations of the nuisance of HUMANS FEEDING, with regards to feral cats. This is not one of the two categories that are within their jurisdiction. But, even if it were, we should examine what they do more closely. There is the very important matter of "Due Process." 3-132

If this were an ACTUAL nuisance complaint, being dealt with according to the law, a REAL ACO or Police Officer would have to witness the nuisance. This is required by law. 3-115(a) What nuisance would the ACO witness? Humans feeding? Cats Breathing? ... Sleeping? ... Simply existing? If a legitimate nuisance is witnessed, the ACO or Police Officer is required to give notice by issuing a Citation (this is a SPECIFIC FORM. It's not a letter, or an Incident/Investigation Report, or even a Warning whether written or verbal). There are a lot of requirements that have to be met to qualify as notice. 3-115(a) Most important is that the Citation must be given to the OWNER OF THE ANIMAL.

IMPORTANT: In the case of a REAL nuisance citation, it only becomes a violation, AFTER the citation has been delivered TO THE OWNER, and THE OWNER of the animal has FAILED to abate the nuisance. 3-132(a)

Who's Responsible? AMD v. the Circuit Court

Now, here we run into another problem. Feral cats DO NOT HAVE AN OWNER. Feral cats CAN NOT have an owner BY LAW. So, AMD's solution is to tell you that IF YOU FEED IT, you BECOME THE OWNER of the animal that you are NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO OWN.

Prince George's Feral Friends, SPCA filed suit against AMD for unconstitutional enforcement of the statute for falsely saying just this and WE WON. The judge ruled that "the mere feeding of an animal does not confer ownership." That should have settled the matter. Except that AMD has no respect for the law and no more respect for the judge's ruling.

After WE WON the case, AMD posted a News Bulletin on the county website saying that the judge had ruled in THEIR favor and WE HAD LOST the case, so THEY had been VINDICATED ... and they kept doing just what they had been doing all along.

By What Authority?

Subtitle 3 of the P.G. County Statute is known as the "enabling legislation" for the Animal Management Division. AMD was created by that subtitle, and the subtitle defines the responsibilities and the jurisdiction of AMD.

AMD employees are not part of the police department. They are not authorized to carry weapons. They are not authorized to serve a warrant or arrest someone. They are an administrative agency, much like parking enforcement.

AMD employees habitually overreach the statute when they attempt to issue a citation for failure to license and/or vaccinate to a person who is feeding feral cats. There are several violations here. 1) They are not delivering the citation to the owner of the animal, because a feral animal, legally wild, has no owner. 2) According to the definition of "cat" in the statute, the term "cat" does not include wild animals. 3-101(27) (The legal term for this is sui generis, which means that specific individuals in a class are treated differently. i.e. Feral cats are treated differently from cats in general, under the law.)

Overreaching their Overreach

Another unlawful tactic that AMD employs regularly, is simply to round up feral cats, impound them, and kill them. This is the fate of about 1,500 cat per year in P.G. County, and contributes significantly to AMD's dismal outcomes. These cats are considered by AMD to be "STRAY", however, the definition of a "stray" animal is "off the property of its owner". 3-101(72) Since feral cats have no owner, a feral animal can not be "stray", any more than an opossum or a squirrel can be "stray".

Subtitle 3 authorizes AMD to impound specific animals that are "at large". The term "at large" is similar to "stray" because it requires an owner. 3-101(12) A feral animal can never be "at large".

In any case, the Impound section authorizes AMD to impound DOGS found at large. 3-122(a) and (b) Period. ONLY dogs. The statute specifically limits AMD's impound authorization to DOGS. PERIOD. Not cats. It doesn't make any difference whether it is "stray" or "at large", AMD does NOT have the authority to impound it. AMD violates this statute THOUSANDS of times per year.

A Law AMD Does Not Like

The County Council, appreciates the value of a managed colony of feral cats. Cats that have been through a Trap-Neuter-Return program have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated for Rabies, and ear-tipped for identification. The change in hormones eliminates the mating drive, and many of the behaviors that some people find objectionable. They do not reproduce kittens, they do not wander as much, they do not fight, so injuries and transmission of disease is reduced. In a study of about 1500 feral cats at the University of Florida, they were found to be as healthy, or more-so, than house cats that have been regularly vetted by their owners.

With the help of an Animal Law Attorney provided by PGFF SPCA, the County Council introduced a bill that would recognize the asset and protect the investment that neighbors had made in their community. It was primarily an amendment to the Impound section, 3-122, which previously contained paragraphs (a) through (d). The Bill added a few definitions, and added paragraphs (e) through (g) to section 3-122. The bill passed in November 2012 and became effective in January 2013.

The new law requires an Animal Control Officer who encounters an ear-tipped cat in a trap to release it on the spot. In spite of this requirement, ACOs continue to bring trapped ear-tipped cats into the facility.

The law also requires AMD to notify a list of groups should an ear-tipped cat be delivered to the Animal Services Facility, so that they have the opportunity to return the cat to the location where it was trapped. AMD does this only occasionally.

An individual recently told PGFF that when informed about the "ear-tipped cat law", an ACO said "I don't know anything about any ear-tipped cat law".

It's not surprising, that if one goes to the AMD website, click on "Resources", and then "Animal Ordinance Control" [sic], you will get a version of Subtitle 3 which has the ear-tipped cat law, 3-122 (e) through (g), DELETED.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Believe me, there is much more.

You can help to make a difference

If you would like to help to change this situation for the benefit of both the animals and the people of P.G. County, please email mailto://Info@PGFerals.org, or call 301-262-6452 and give us your name, address (so we can determine your representatives) and phone number (cell preferred, for last-minute co-ordination). We are planning more actions like those in the videos on our Facebook page, campaigns that involve contacting your representatives, writing letters, and other tactics.

A small number of dedicated people can change the world.
A larger number can change it more quickly. Thanks.