Under current Arkansas laws and local ordinances, "Community Cats" (ferals and strays) and their caretakers are trapped in a legal web that favors lethal outcomes over humane management. Below is the breakdown of how current rules effectively mandate the killing of cats and the harassment of good Samaritans. 1. The "6-Month" Death Sentence
🐾 The Law: Under 20 CAR § 105-107, any cat exposed to a suspected rabid animal that cannot produce immediate vaccination papers must be quarantined for 6 months at the caretaker's expense.
🐾 The Reality: For a colony caretaker, the cost of boarding dozens of cats for half a year is financially impossible. If the caretaker cannot pay, the state’s default solution is not relocation or a second chance - it is to kill the cats.
- Trap and Kill: The Rabies Tag Trap
🐾 The Law: Arkansas Code § 20-19-305 mandates rabies vaccinations for all cats. Most local ordinances require a physical tag.
🐾 The Reality: Without a visible tag, any cat - including a healthy, eartipped TNR cat - can be seized as a "stray." If no "owner" claims them (and pays the mounting fines/boarding fees) within a few days, these cats are killed. The system uses "public health" as a pretext for mass extermination.
- Feeding Bans: Starvation as Policy
🐾 The Rule: Multiple Arkansas localities, such as Benton, have enacted bans on feeding stray animals on public property or easements.
🐾 The Reality: These bans don't make cats disappear; they force them to scavenge in trash and roam further into dangerous areas. These laws essentially criminalize compassion and use starvation as a population control method.
- The "Owner" Trap: Accountability Without Rights
🐾 The Law: Arkansas Code § 20-19-302 defines an "owner" as anyone who "knowingly permits a cat to remain on or about their premises."
🐾 The Reality: If you put out a bowl of water or food, the state legally declares you the "owner." This allows the government to hit you with fines, boarding costs, and legal liability for the cat's actions, yet gives you zero of the protections afforded to traditional pet owners. You are an owner for the purpose of being punished, but not for the purpose of protecting the cat's life.
A Call to Action: Stop the Killing
The status quo in Arkansas is a war on compassion. We are living under a "Catch-22" where caring for a cat makes you a criminal, and the penalty for the cat is death. We must demand:
🐾 Legal Recognition of Caretakers: We are not "owners"; we are volunteers providing a public service. Laws must be updated to exempt TNR caretakers from "ownership" liabilities.
🐾 State-Wide TNR Protections: Eartipped and tattooed cats should be legally protected from seizure. A clipped ear or surgical tattoo are signs of a vaccinated, sterilized, and managed cat - not a reason to kill.
🐾 End the Feeding Bans: Starving animals is animal cruelty, whether done by an individual or a city council.
🐾 Fund Life, Not Death: Taxpayer dollars should be diverted from "Catch and Kill" programs into low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinics.
Arkansas cats deserve a chance to live. Caretakers deserve the right to care. It’s time to change the law before one more life is lost.
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