Trouble in Anaheim
Message from the Human:
There’s a topic that I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to address for a couple weeks now, but since it is starting pick up steam and get more attention, here goes:
Some of you may have heard about the new law that has gone into effect for the City of Anaheim as of January 1, 2015. According to the official wording of section 6.44.1301 of the Anaheim Municipal Code:
“It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally provide food, water, or other forms of sustenance to a feral cat of feral cat colony within the boundaries of the City. It is not a violation of this section for any person to feed or shelter feral cats while working with an animal control agency under contract with the City of Anaheim.”
Understandably, animal rights activists across the county (and the country) are very upset about this new law and are trying to figure out what it means for the future of feral cats in Anaheim—including the Disneyland area.
The wording of the law makes it relatively difficult to understand and certainly open to interpretation. As far as I know, the law has yet to be enforced anywhere within the city because it is so vague. Wagering a guess, it seems as though it was enacted without putting much thought into the logistics of how it would work—most likely by city officials who are relatively ignorant about feral cats.
For now, it is completely unclear what the future may hold for Anaheim’s feral cats, but efforts are being made by a number of organizations to get the city to rethink the code and make it more humane.
Trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs, like the one at Disneyland, are an effective way to control cat overpopulation without resorting to extreme measures like cutting off food supplies. Orange County’s animal shelter supports TNR and runs a successful program (which is one reason why the wording of the city code is so convoluted).
Feral cats are often vilified by people who don’t understand how colonies work, but the reality is that the vast majority of these animals are completely healthy and no less likely to spread disease than regular house cats (there haven’t ever been reported cases of rabies from feral cats). In fact, when these cats are fed and well cared for, they can actually be very beneficial to their communities—they help control rodent populations, for example.
I’ve had several people ask what this new law might mean for the Cats of Disneyland, and the only answer I can honestly give is “I don’t know.” As an unofficial website without any affiliation with Disney, we don’t know what type of contact the company might have had with the city. There’s been talk that the Disneyland Cats might somehow be excluded from the ordinance, but it’s difficult to know exactly what will actually happen.
Because things are so up in the air, we all have the opportunity to join in the fight to get this code modified or overturned. There are petitions like this one that you can sign, and you can also contact local politicians to ask that they consider changing the law. If the city will consider altering its stance to be in favor of TNR programs rather than asking residents to starve the cats they care for, things are going to turn out better for everyone. If you do decide to contact city officials, I urge you to do so politely. This law almost certainly stems from ignorance first and foremost, so this is your opportunity to educate people about the benefits feral cats bring to their communities.
Contact information for city officials is listed below. Hopefully we can turn this into a positive situation for cats across the city—Disneyland included.
Mayor: Tom Tait (ttait@anaheim.net, 714-765-5247)
Code Enforcement Manager: Sandra Sagert (sseaton@anaheim.net, 714-765-4413)
Mayor Pro Tem: Lucille Kring (lkring@anaheim.net, 714-765-5047)
Council Member: Kris Murray (kmurray@anaheim.net, 714-765-5247)
Council Member: James Vanderbilt (sray@anaheim.net, 714-765-5247)
Code Enforcement Officer: Robert Happle (rhapple@anaheim.net, 714- 765-4480)
Media Relations: Ruth Ruiz (rruiz@anaheim.net, 714-765-5060)
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Since the cats of Disneyland are on private property I should think they would not be considered under this law. It would be much like saying that those that keep their cats outdoors (I’m not a believer in that but to each his own) feed them, neuter/spay them and care for them would fall under such a law and be required to starve their pets.
This law is ridiculous and not humane as written, however vauge.
Starving an animal that keeps the rodent population under control? We feed the rats, mice and possums as well as the coyotes in some neiborhoods with our garbage albeit unintentional.
Enacting TNR programs be it through city or volunteer programs is the only humane and rational way to deal with a ferral cat colony.
TNR works, plus these cats take care of rodents that nobody wants.
Where or how do I sign a petition?
This type of action comes from “ignorant” and “heartless people”. Its obvious that the City Council didn’t waste much time on thinking about this new ordinance. I have read most of the other other petitions, and residents of Anaheim who believe in freedom of choice, and caring for the helpless animals, are outraged over this ordinance, as they should be. Many of these feral cats live in the back yards of homeowners, which is private property, just as D’land is private property. Starving these animals is no solution, but it is animal cruelty by government officials. Shame on all of you!
The Law allows a landowner to deem cats a nuisance and prosecute the person feeding. Any apartment manager, owner can evict or punish a tenant for example and fell good about it cuz he has the City behind him. An angry business owner could trap a cat as a nuisance and dump it anywhere. The law may not be enacted in obvious ways but in more subtle ways and encourages hatred of cats in the society we are raising our kids in.