SAVING FERAL CATS IN CONNECTICUT

Your calls are urgently needed to save feral cats!

The Department of Agriculture is proposing regulations regarding the control of rabies in public settings. This is a dire situation as these regulations in their current form will make the feral cats we care for, and the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) work we do, illegal.

The proposed regulations state that an animal must have a “current” rabies vaccine to be in a public setting. The definitions in Section 22-359-1(4) of the proposed regulations define a “currently vaccinated” animal as an animal who received a vaccination “at least thirty days previously.” Specifically, the regulations would mean that a newly vaccinated feral cat would not be a currently vaccinated cat for 30 days and would therefore have to be held for at least thirty days. This would be impossible for anyone who is doing TNR. It also means that any unvaccinated feral cat is in violation of the regulations and we are concerned that these regulations could be interpreted to allow these cats to be trapped and killed.

It is the responsibility of the Legislative Regulation Review Committee to review regulations proposed by state agencies and approve them before regulations are implemented. The proposed regulations will be subject to a vote on March 24th.

Listed below are the members of the committee. Please check to see if your representative sits on the Regulations Review Committee. If so, please call your representative today, Monday, March 23rd, and respectfully request that he/she oppose this regulation. Please advise him/her that the regulations, as currently written, would prevent TNR of outdoor cats and that TNR is an essential part of humanely addressing cat overpopulation.

If you are unsure if your representative is on the committee, please visit TOWN LIST to find your legislator and compare it to the names on the Regulation Review Committee.

Your calls will make a difference! Please take a few minutes to contact your representative and forward this email to any friends or family living in the towns listed below. Thank you for taking action on this urgent and important matter!

Regulations Review Committee:

House Chair, State Rep. T.R. Rowe (R): 860-240-8700; 
tr.rowe@housegop.ct.gov. Rep. Rowe represents Trumbull.

State Senator Dan Debicella (R): 860-240-8800; 
dan.debicella@cga.ct.gov. Senator Debicella represents 
Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford.

State Rep. Carlo Leone (R): 860-240-8500; 
carlo.leone@cga.ct.gov. Rep. Leone represents 
Stamford.

State Rep. Arthur O'Neill (R): 860-240-8700;
 arthur.oneill.@housegop.ct.gov. Rep. O'Neill 
represents: Bridgewater, Roxbury, 
Southbury & Washington.

State Senator Andrew Roraback (R): 860-240-8800; 
Andrew.roraback@cga.ct.gov. Senator Roraback 
represents: Goshen, Brookfield, Canaan,
 Cornwall, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, 
North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, 
Warren, Washington, Winchester.

State Rep. Christopher Caruso (D): 860-240-8500; 
christopher.caruso@cga.ct.gov. State Rep. Caruso 
represents Bridgeport.

State Rep. Paul Davis (D): 860-240-8500; 
paul.davis@cga.ct.gov. Rep. Davis represents
 Milford, Orange and West Haven.

State Rep. Juan Candelaria (D): 860-240-8500;
 juan.candelaria@cga.ct.gov. State Rep. Candelaria 
represents New Haven.

Senate Chair, State Senator Joan Hartley (D):
 860-240-8600; Hartley@senatedems.ct.gov. 
Senator Hartley represents:
 Waterbury, Naugatuck and Prospect.

State Senator Sam Caligiuri (R): 860-240-8800; 
sam.caliguiri@cga.ct.gov. Senator Caligiuri represents 
Waterbury, Cheshire & Southington.

State Senator Paul Doyle (D): 860-240-8600;
 doyle@senatedems.ct.gov. Senator Doyle represents 
Cromwell, Newington, Rocky Hill, Middletown 
and Wethersfield.

State Senator Jonathan Harris (D): 860-240-8600; 
harris@senatedemsc.ct.gov. Senator Harris 
represents West Hartford, Farmington, 
Bloomfield and Burlington.

State Rep. Vincent Candelora (R): 860-240-8700;
 Vincent.candelora@housegop.ct.gov. State Rep. Candelora 
represents: East Haven, North Branford 
and Wallingford.

State Rep. William Hamzy (R): 860-240-8700; 
William.hamzy@cga.ct.gov. 
Rep. Hamzy represents Bristol and Plymouth.

Special thanks to Friends of Feral Cheshire Cats and 
The Animal Center for alerting us to this important 
animal protection issue.