to: Chapel Hill Town Council
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager
from: Brian J. Curran, Chief of Police
Terri Gale, Police Legal Advisor
subject: Response to citizen petition to require leashes for cats
date: January 12, 2009
The purpose of this report is to respond to a citizen petition asking the Town Council to consider enacting a leash law for cats. Specifically, the citizen requests that the current Town Code requirement that a dog be “under restraint” when away from the premises of its custodian, be amended to apply to cats as well as dogs. The citizen describes in her petition an incident in which her dog, as she was walking it on a leash, ran so suddenly after a neighbor’s cat that her leash broke and rewound, injuring the petitioner’s finger. The petitioner also describes incidents of neighborhood cats killing birds.
Section 4-14 of the Chapel Hill Town Code states:
Sec. 4-14. Certain acts declared public nuisances.
The following acts are defined as public nuisances. Animals may be impounded by the animal control officer for any of the following, subject to redemption in the manner provided in this article:
(1) Any animal which habitually and repeatedly makes noises sufficient to interfere seriously with neighboring residents' reasonable use of their property;
(2) Any animal which is offensive to others due to an odor caused by the animal;
(3) Any animal which repeatedly turns over garbage cans, damages flower or vegetable gardens, or causes damage to property of others;
(4) A female dog in heat not in a building or secure enclosure in such a manner that she will not be in contact with another dog;
(5) Any stray dog which is away from the premises of the custodian, or in a public place or on any public property in the town, unless the dog is under restraint;
(6) Any dog on the premises of the custodian and not attended by and under the control of a competent person;
(7) Any dog or cat off the premises of the custodian not wearing current license tags and rabies control tags as required by this chapter;
(8) Any animal which unprovoked, chases or approaches a pedestrian, bicycle rider or vehicle in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack.
The citizen petitioner asks that the words “or cat” be added to subsection 4-14(5) following the word “dog” so that subsection (5) would apply to cats as well as dogs. Currently, subsections (1),(2),(3),(7),and (8), concerning animal noise, animal odor, damage caused by animals, license and rabies tags, and chases, respectively, already apply to cats as well as dogs.
Research indicates one North Carolina municipality, the Town of Cary, which has a leash law for cats. Section 6-65 of the Cary Code states that “[i]t is unlawful for the owner of any cat or dog to allow such animal to be at large in the town….” Section 6-63 states that “At large means any animal found off of the property of its owner and not under restraint…” According to Cary animal control officials, typical problems with cats include cats attempting to gain access to bird feeders, using a garden or sandbox as a litter box, and jumping on vehicles. Cary officials usually do not charge a violation of the code unless the same cat has acted in violation of the code on repeated occasions.
The proposed amendment would require that a cat which is away from its owner’s premises or on public property be “under restraint” which would mean that the cat must be either on a leash or within a vehicle. The behaviors which such restraint could prevent would include those identified by Cary officials, e.g. damaging bird feeders, gardens, sandboxes, and vehicles, as well as harming birds and other destructive or threatening conduct.
The Town Code currently declares such behaviors, if repeatedly and on property of others, to be “public nuisances” and prohibits them at Town Code Section 4-14(3) and 4-14 (8). In addition, Town Code Section 4-16(a)(4) makes it unlawful for any animal which is three months of age or older, including a cat, to injure or kill any pet or domestic livestock on or off its custodian’s property. An animal which has violated this ordinance can be declared a “vicious animal” and its custodian can be penalized and required to confine the animal. According to Orange County Animal Control Services, which enforces Town animal ordinances within Chapel Hill, there have been instances in which vicious confinement orders have been issued as to cats within the Town.
That the Council take no action on this petition.