[Adopted 11-15-2004 by Ord. No. 1104-03[1]]
[1]
Editors's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. V, Cats, adopted 11-8-1974 as Ch. 4, Art. 5, of the 1974
Code, as amended.
The City has had a significant resident-abandoned
or feral cat population for many years. The transient nature of a
resort community makes it difficult to stop the abandonment of cats
by seasonal visitors, As these cats form colonies and procreate, their
population becomes an ongoing problem to manage. It is the intent
of this article to reduce the City’s population of abandoned
or feral cats.
[Amended 7-20-2018 by Ord. No. 0718-01]
Pet cats that go outside must wear a rabies
vaccination license or some other form of identification.
[Amended 7-20-2018 by Ord. No. 0718-01]
The Animal Control Officer or the City Manager,
or their designee, may apprehend any abandoned or feral cat running
at large and cause said animal to be transported to the local SPCA
in Georgetown, Delaware. If said cat is determined to be feral, it
may be spayed or neutered and returned to the location from which
it was apprehended, provided that the cat’s ear has been notched,
which is a universal sign that it has been sterilized and given a
rabies vaccine. If said cat is determined to be abandoned, it may
not be returned to the location from which it was apprehended.
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the use
of a Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR) program by any person or group
of persons to reduce the City’s population of abandoned or feral
cats.
