April 11, 2017
Senate Committee on Government Affairs
Legislative Building, Room 2135
Carson City, NV
[email protected]
Exhibit to S.B. 411 (BDR 20-11)
Dear Chair Parks, Vice-Chair Manendo, and Honorable Members of the Committee on Government
Affairs,
On behalf of the Nevada-based supporters of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the
largest animal protection organization in the country, please accept this exhibit for S.B. 411.
We strongly support the intent of this bill, but have some language recommendations below, based on
our years of experience working with government officials, trap/neuter/return (TNR) groups and
enacting effective policy to encourage the effective management of unowned cats.
Please consider the below recommendations:

Replace the term “feral” with “community” cat. Most TNR programs are going to
deal with a mix of feral and stray cats- ranging in sociability. We’d recommend changing feral
to community cats, with the associated definition- “Community cat” means a feral or free-
roaming cat that is without visibly discernable owner identification of any kind.

All cats are the domestic species.
If to the Committee chooses to keep the word “feral”, we highly recommend a modification to
the feral cat definition: "Feral cat" means a cat that has no apparent owner or identification
and appears to be unsocialized to humans and unmanageable or otherwise demonstrates
characteristics normally associated with wild or undomesticated animals. All cats are domestic
cats- nationally, we are mindful to not imply that feral cats are something separate from your
average housecat, besides their level of sociability. We want to ensure that all cats are
protected by cruelty statutes and other protections.
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
Cats are returned to colonies in TNR. Specific words matter strongly when crafting
effective programs. TNR programs return cats to the colonies they live in, and do not release
cats elsewhere. We recommend that in the “program for managed care” sections, the word
released be changed to returned: “Release Return a feral cat that has been provided care and
treatment.”
SB 411’s intent to ensure that communities across Nevada can enact appropriate and effective
management programs for unowned cats, should be applauded and passed. With the word changes
listed above, this legislation places Nevada as a leader in humane care for cats.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Heather Carpenter
Western Regional Director, State Affairs
The Humane Society of the United States
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