LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Clark County leaders approved code changes proposed by Animal Protection Services to humanely tackle “nuisance” cat colonies across the Las Vegas Valley.
The code changes approved Tuesday are a part sweeping reforms to Clark County code, aiming to crack down on backyard breeders across the Las Vegas Valley, limit the number of animals entering shelters and rescues, and curb cases of animal cruelty and neglect.
There are 200,000 stray or ‘community’ cats in colonies across the Las Vegas Valley, according to The Animal Foundation.
FOX5 has heard from animal activists about concerning behavior from homeowners across the Valley to manage these cats: some people fed up with the cats take it upon themselves to inhumanely remove them. Other homeowners, dubbed “feeder breeders,” feed them and care for them — but allow them to multiply, ultimately causing problems for neighbors.
Animal control tells FOX5, a cat colony in itself is not illegal. New ordinance amendments better define a ‘nuisance’: they include biting, aggression, property damage, odors, animal waste, flies and other bad conditions.
Animal control officers can intervene during the investigation of a nuisance, county officials said.
Residents and homeowners are required to contact animal organizations to participate in a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program and utilize “humane” deterrents, county officials said.
“Residents are to provide documentation of any damages, including but not limited to invoices for repairs, photographs, or veterinarian bills. Once these steps are complete and the mitigation efforts have not been successful, the cat colony may be declared a nuisance,” a county spokesperson emailed to FOX5.
After a cat colony is declared a nuisance, the homeowner can trap the cats and must take them to a shelter.
County officials tell FOX5, cat relocation does not work; they will ultimately return to the area.
In other code changes, all animal traps must now be checked daily to avoid inhumane treatment. They must have “adequate water and shelter.”
“There are humane policies, and you need to work through animal control. You’re not allowed to kill those cats,” said Gina Griesen of Nevada Voters for Animals. Griesen, animal advocates and neighbors reported a home with a cat in a trap, left in the heat. FOX5 obtained a photo from a responding Animal Protection Services officer investigating the situation.
If there are problems with a cat colony in an area, residents may be asked to feed in a nearby location, or remove feeding bowls in between feedings, according to animal control.
The Animal Foundation said you can contact them for assistance with TNR. Click here: Community Cats
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