Posted on 12/12/2012 6:06:50 PM PST by WXRGina
A Biloxi Community Court judge has sentenced a 78-year-old woman to 100 hours of community service for the hoarding of cats in a case believed to be unprecedented.
Dawn Summers, a 50-year resident of the Glendale Heights subdivision, thought she was already performing a community service.
She's the manager of a feral cat colony. In cooperation with a city-sanctioned program of the Humane Society of South Mississippi, she feeds cats that have been trapped, examined, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and released to live outdoors without fear of euthanasia.
She said she's fed as many as 27.
Her sentencing drew criticism from HSSM officials and animal lovers who attended a hearing Tuesday to show their support.
"This is already drawing national attention," said Tara High, HSSM executive director.
Contacts with Maryland-based feral cat organization Alley Cat Allies have said it is rare for a feral colony manager to be prosecuted for hoarding, High said.
Judge Pro Tem Dean Wilson sentenced Summers on Tuesday after an attorney met with him behind closed doors to discuss an agreement city officials signed in 2009. The agreement exempts residents from prosecution under the city's leash law if they are caring for feral cats released back into the community through the HSSM's Trap, Neuter, Return program.
The agreement -- a memorandum of understanding -- was attached to a resolution signed by Mayor A.J. Holloway.
But there's a hitch: a city ordinance that limits the number of domestic animals a resident can have wasn't changed when the resolution was signed. That means Summers only can feed up to six cats older than six months or she's breaking the law.
(Excerpt) Read more at sunherald.com ...
Wow...Biloxi must be a totally crime free city to have so much time to prosecute someone for feeding feral cats....under permission from the city
Why judges and prosecutors should lose immunity protection
I dont know who said it first, but The law is an ass..........
A friend of mine, a WW2 veteran, and one of the pilots in the Berlin Airlift, who home-cares his elderly bedridden wife, was FINED for feeding sex feral cats who sought shelter in his carport.
I kid you not.
That’s funny!
Around 30 years ago I was talking to a Mississippi State Wildlife Biologist. I disagreed with him on one thing. He thought we should not kill rattlesnakes.
On the other hand he said he killed every feral cat he saw in the woods. He said they were one of the most harmful things there is. I agree and I like cats.
I’m more concerned about feral democrats.
I live in north Texas. Every feral cat out there is one less house pet the owles and coyotes eat.
Can’t see them ever becoming a problem here. They are not that high on the food chain.
Given the short lifespan of feral cats she probably has a peak of 26 cats, and a minimum of 2 on a pretty regular basis. i'd suggest her's is a crime not worth worrying about.
I was fine $100 for feeding, fixing and vaccinating the cats that came into my house. I left that small ignorant community.
A friend of mine, a WW2 veteran, and one of the pilots in the Berlin Airlift, who home-cares his elderly bedridden wife, was FINED for feeding sex feral cats who sought shelter in his carport.
I kid you not.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Were they Freudian?
I lived in Western Kansas for 5 years. I spent a lot of time outdoors but don’t recall ever seeing a cat of any kind. I guess the prairies are just not cat territory.
Here in the NW Florida woods, the cats do pretty much what they want. We have coyotes but I don’t think the cats have much to fear from them, at least if there is a tree nearby.
Yep. I'm with you.
Mississippi ping
Maryland has several months of hard freeze during the winter months.Feral cat populations will be semi-controlled by nature.
Mississippi does not have the same weather cycles as Maryland.
What works in Maryland does not work at all in Mississippi.
I like your tagline. Spot-on.
When I was a teenager in NY state, I went to an auto junk yard looking for some parts and I remember 3 different cars in there that had long since dead cats impaled with engine fans and crushed in the fan belts. Cats would fall asleep on the warm engine blocks and the owner would start the engine later.
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