[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Greenwood Lake 5-18-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This article shall be known as the "Feral Cat Control Act of
the Village of Greenwood Lake."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
Any cat, regardless of sex, age or ownership status.
The person designated by the Village of Greenwood Lake Board
of Trustees to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Any tamed cat, accustomed to socializing with humans, kept
in or about the residence of the owner, which is not vicious, dangerous
or otherwise obnoxious, objectionable or offensive.
A cat whose left ear tip has been removed indicating that
the cat has been trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated against rabies
and returned to its habitat.
To bring about death by a legal humane method.
Any cat, not bearing a tag or other form of owner identification,
existing in a wild or untamed state, or returning to an untamed state
after domestication.
Maintaining control over a cat by housing, feeding, treating,
bathing and/or exerting any other type of influence over it.
A tag which sets forth the identity of the owner of the cat.
A resident of the Village of Greenwood Lake, Inc., licensed
by the Warwick Valley Humane Society and the Village of Greenwood
Lake, Inc., to supervise, feed and maintain a specific managed outdoor
cat colony.
A group of ear-tipped cats that live outdoors which are supervised,
fed and maintained by a Village resident licensed to do so by the
Warwick Valley Humane Society and the Village of Greenwood Lake, Inc.
Any area that is not the inside of the cat owner's residence.
Every person having a right of property of a cat and every
person who has a cat in his or her keeping or who harbors a cat or
the adult member of a family in which a minor owner of a cat resides.
Any cat found outdoors, beyond the boundaries of its owner's
residence, bearing an identification tag or other form of owner identification.
This chapter shall apply to all cats and residents within the
Village of Greenwood Lake.
A.
No cat shall be fed outdoors or in any area which provides unfettered
indoor/outdoor access within the Village of Greenwood Lake, unless
such feeding is within the immediate and constant presence of the
owner or the licensee of a managed outdoor cat colony.
B.
It is unlawful for any person to leave unattended food or water or
to otherwise attract or create conditions within the Village which
allow cats, domesticated, ear-tipped or feral, to accumulate on the
property and otherwise endanger the health, safety and welfare of
the other residents of the Village of Greenwood Lake.
C.
No person shall keep or suffer or permit to be kept, either on or
off the premises of the owner or person, any cat which, by its continual
howling or whining or other frequent or long-continued noise or behavior,
shall cause annoyance or discomfort to a reasonable person of normal
sensitiveness.
D.
No person who owns or has control of any cat shall permit or suffer
such cat to run at large or to damage or destroy property of any kind
of another person; or to attack or bite or injure any person peaceably
conducting himself in any place where such person may lawfully be;
or to attack, chase, injure or kill another animal of another person
when such other animal is in any place where it may lawfully be. For
the purposes hereof, when any cat is in violation of the provisions
of this chapter, the owner shall be deemed to have permitted or suffered
the cat to have committed such violation.
E.
No owner shall keep or suffer to be kept any cat which commits a
nuisance in a public highway, public building, public park or on any
private property except with the consent of the owner of the property
thereof.
F.
No owner shall keep or suffer to be kept any cat which continually
runs at large with a clowder or clutter of other cats.
G.
No owner shall permit a female domestic cat which is in heat to have
outdoor access or permit conditions to exist in which male domestic
cats are attracted to the premises of the owner of female domestic
cats in heat, where such attraction causes a nuisance to adjoining
property owners.
H.
No owner shall permit the premises, structure or enclosure in which
a cat is kept to be unclean or unsanitary.
I.
No owner shall permit a cat to deposit excrement or urine on the
property of another without the prior approval of the property owner,
unless such waste is immediately removed and disposed of properly.
J.
No owner shall permit a cat to deposit urine or excrement on the
property of the Village of Greenwood Lake, including but not limited
to any sidewalk, street, park, playground or parking lot, unless such
waste is immediately removed and disposed of properly.
K.
No resident of the Village of Greenwood Lake shall harbor any feral
cat within the Village of Greenwood Lake other than as part of a managed
outdoor cat colony.
L.
No owner of any cat shall allow such cat outside of their residence
if the cat is not wearing an identification tag, identifying the owner
of the cat, on a breakaway-type collar.
M.
No cat shall be allowed outdoors at any time unless it is spayed
or neutered.
N.
No dwelling unit in the Village of Greenwood Lake shall be allowed
to harbor more than five cats.
A.
Up to 20 ear-tipped cats may exist as part of a managed outdoor cat
colony, managed by an adult who resides within the designated boundaries
of the managed outdoor cat colony and who obtains a license for same
from the Warwick Valley Humane Society and files proof of such license
with the Clerk of the Village of Greenwood Lake, Inc.
B.
Licenses for a managed outdoor cat colony will be issued annually,
upon written application, in form prescribed by the Clerk of the Village
of Greenwood Lake, Inc.
C.
An application for a license to manage a managed outdoor cat colony
will include the following:
(1)
Full legal name, address and telephone contact information of the
proposed licensee;
(2)
A map clearly identifying the boundaries of the proposed managed
outdoor cat colony and a detailed description of the feeding station;
and
(3)
Proof that the proposed licensee resides within the designated boundaries
of the managed outdoor cat colony.
D.
Licenses for a managed outdoor cat colony will be granted by the
Warwick Valley Humane Society, with the consent and approval of the
Cat Control Officer. Such approval may only be given after an inspection
of the proposed managed outdoor cat colony site by a representative
of the Warwick Valley Humane Society and the Cat Control Officer to
ensure humane conditions at the site and confirm the ability of the
proposed licensee to adequately supervise and maintain the managed
outdoor cat colony.
E.
Status as a licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony does not grant
rights of ownership over the managed outdoor cat colony or the cats
which comprise the managed outdoor cat colony.
F.
A licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony, by virtue of his/her
license, consents to continued monitoring and any and all inspections
conducted by the Humane Society, the Cat Control Officer or a police
officer, as may be necessary to ensure humane conditions at the managed
outdoor cat colony for so long as the colony remains in existence.
G.
A licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony is responsible to ensure
that no cat will deposit urine or excrement on the property of the
Village of Greenwood Lake, including but not limited to any sidewalk,
street, park, playground or parking lot, unless such waste is immediately
removed and disposed of properly.
H.
A licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony is responsible to ensure
that no cat, by its continual howling or whining or other frequent
or long-continued noise or behavior, shall cause annoyance or discomfort
to a reasonable person of normal sensitiveness.
I.
A licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony is responsible to ensure
that no cat shall damage or destroy property of any kind of another
person; or to attack or bite or injure any person peaceably conducting
himself in any place where such person may lawfully be; or to attack,
chase, injure or kill another animal of another person when such other
animal is in any place where it may lawfully be.
J.
A licensee for a managed outdoor cat colony is responsible to designate
one specific feeding station for the daily feeding of the ear-tipped
cats existing as part of the managed outdoor cat colony, and all feeding
shall be conducted within the immediate and constant presence of the
licensee.
K.
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be grounds
for the revocation of a license to manage a managed outdoor cat colony.
The owner of any cat which has, without provocation, attacked,
injured or damaged any person, other animal or property shall be liable
for such injury and damages.
A.
A Cat Control Officer or Code Enforcement Officer observing a violation
of this chapter in his or her presence may issue and serve an appearance
ticket pursuant to the New York State Criminal Procedure Law.
B.
As to the control of animal waste, a Cat Control Officer or Code
Enforcement Officer may, after observing a violation of this chapter
or upon the sworn complaint of an individual observing a violation
of this chapter, issue and cause to be served an appearance ticket
setting forth a brief description of the circumstances of the violation.
A.
Any person who observes a cat or the owners thereof in violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter may file a written verified
complaint with the Cat Control Officer or Code Enforcement Officer
in a form acceptable to such officer, which complaint shall set forth
the conduct of such cat or that of the owner, including the date thereof,
the damage caused, if any, a description of such cat and the name
and residence, if known, of the owner of said cat.
B.
Upon receipt of such a complaint, if such complaint indicates that
a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Cat Control Officer
or Code Enforcement Officer may issue and serve an appearance ticket
based upon such information upon the owner of such cat, if such owner
is known.
A.
Except as otherwise provided for in the New York State Agriculture
and Markets Law, a violation of this chapter shall constitute an offense
punishable by any applicable provisions of the New York State Agriculture
and Markets Law as well out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the victim
for damages caused by a violation of this statute, as well as a fine
not to exceed $750.
B.
Each day's violation shall be considered a new and separate
offense subject to a separate penalty.
