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The Companion Animal Protection Act

Too many shelters are not voluntarily implementing our programs. As a result, animals are being needlessly killed. In response, the No Kill Advocacy Center has developed model legislation to help animal lovers and animal advocates achieve their goal of No Kill communities: The Companion Animal Protection Act of 2007.

This law:

• mandates the programs and services which have proven so successful at lifesaving in shelters which have implemented them;
• follows the only model that has actually created a No Kill community; and,
• focuses its effort on the very shelters that are doing the killing.

As a result, it provides a framework for success unavailable from traditional legislative models such as punitive legislation aimed at the public or through counterproductive national efforts that legitimize the killing.

Companion Animal Protection Act highlights:

• Establishes the shelter's primary role as saving the lives of animals
• Declares that saving lives and protecting public safety are compatible
• Establishes a definition of No Kill that includes all savable animals including feral cats
• Protects rabbits and other animals, as well as dogs and cats
• Requires shelters to spay/neuter animals before adoption
• Protects feral cat caregivers
• Makes it illegal for a shelter to kill an animal if a rescue group or No Kill shelter is willing to save that animal
• Requires shelters to provide animals with fresh food, fresh water, environmental enrichment, exercise, veterinary care, and cleanliness
• Makes it illegal for shelters to kill owner relinquished animals without making them available for adoption or transfer to a rescue group, even in cases where the owner wants the animal killed unless the animal is suffering
• Requires shelters to scan for microchips and other means of reuniting strays with their families
• Requires shelters to have fully functioning adoption programs including offsite adoptions, use of the internet to promote their animals, and further mandates that animal control be open seven days per week for adoption
• Prohibits shelters from killing animals based on arbitrary criteria such as breed bans or when alternatives to killing exist
• Requires animal control to allow volunteers to help with fostering, socializing, and assisting with adoptions
• Bans the use of gas chambers to kill animals
• Prohibits pound seizure where animals are sold to laboratories
• Requires shelters to be truthful about how many animals they kill and adopt
• Requires shelters to notify people surrendering animals about the likelihood their animal will be killed
• Requires revenues from dog licenses to be used solely for spay/neuter and medical care for animals in the community
• Provides free spay/neuter for all feral cats and for the pets of qualified low income households
• Repeals laws that intentionally or unintentionally increase the number of animals killed such as pet limit laws, cat licensing laws, and laws that prohibit the feeding of stray animals
• Allows citizens to sue the shelter and compel compliance if shelters fail to do so

Additional CAPA Resources to Print

• Print a copy of CAPA (pdf)
• The Companion Animal Protection Act mandates the provision of low-cost spay/neuter and medical care. Because many shelters have fees which are not "low cost" despite the claim, we also recommended a fee schedule for services at public sheltering agencies. Printable PDF of recommended fee schedule.
• Read why mandatory spay/neuter and licensing laws don't work.

Start the process of reforming animal control and private shelters in your community today.

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