2/11/21 - UPDATE: Submit a comment in support of SB 1390

Please submit a comment urging the VA Delegates to vote YES on SB 1390 and support Trap-Neuter-Return in Virginia.

Submit a comment here:    https://hodspeak.house.virginia.gov/committees/H01/bill_feedback

Those opposed to TNR claim that cats are a major cause of wildlife depletion & present a risk to public health, but that is just not true. Humans are the #1 cause of wildlife depletion, and aside from that, the goal of TNR is to ultimately REDUCE the community cat population and improve the cats' health. Furthermore, without TNR the only alternative option for controlling the cat population would be euthanasia.

If you are interested in reading the public comments on the bill:   https://hodspeak.house.virginia.gov/committees/H01/bills/SB1390/comments

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2/2/21 - UPDATE: SB 1390 passed the Senate today!

The bill will now move onto the Virginia House of Delegates where it will go through readings and be voted on. Please reach out to your Delegate and urge them to vote YES on SB 1390. Find your state Delegate's email address here: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/.

If SB 1390 passes the House, then the bill will advance to the Governor.

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2/1/21 - UPDATE: I am very happy to report that Senator Stuart's floor amendment was rejected today! 

But the fight is not over yet. Senator Lewis’s bill, SB 1390, advanced to its third constitutional reading. Tomorrow (2/2) we can expect a floor vote on the regular calendar. If you have not yet been in communication with your Senator, please do so ASAP, and urge him or her to vote YES on SB 1390. 

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What SB 1390 Does:

• Allows public or private animal shelters, releasing agencies, or hospitals or clinics the option to operate a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. TNR is a nonlethal strategy to reduce the population of unowned community cats by humanely trapping cats, sterilizing, vaccinating, and returning them to where they were trapped.
• Protects program volunteers from civil and criminal charges of abandonment or neglect for the return of healthy, sterilized, and vaccinated cats to the location where they were trapped.
• Relieves Virginia municipal shelters, and by extension taxpayers, from incurring the costs of ineffective community cat trapping and euthanasia.
• Establishes standards for program volunteers, including requirements for record-keeping and trapping.

Why Support this Bill?

• It will humanely and effectively reduce the number of community cats, as well as the nuisance behavior, public health and wildlife predation concerns associated with them.
• It will reduce the number of community cats who are impounded and killed in municipal and private animal shelters and improve the welfare of community cats.
• It will mobilize individuals to go beyond feeding to provide TNR without the fear of prosecution.

How You Can Help

• EMAIL your state Delegate and urge them to vote YES on SB 1390.
• SIGN this petition and share with friends & family.
• SPREAD the word about the importance of SB 1390.

TNR is supported by many Virginia shelters, as well as the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies and Humane Dominion. National organizations that support TNR include The Humane Society of the United States, Alley Cat Allies, the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, Best Friends Animal Society, Cat Fanciers’ Association, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, and the National Animal Control Association.

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Please, take a moment to sign and make a difference in the lives of so many cats and kittens who will otherwise suffer and be unfairly euthanized across Virginia.

SIGN if you are in support of SB 1390 also known as the "TNR Bill," which if passed, would be a powerful step forward for animal welfare in Virginia.

Even though TNR is technically already legal in the state of Virginia, uncertainty and ambiguity within the law has made others hesitant to engage in TNR. This bill does not require individuals or organizations to participate in TNR, but rather a clarifies that they can. SB 1390 would also establish much-needed guidelines and requirements for TNR across Virginia.

** The MOST important thing you can do to help the cause is to send a personal email to your Delegate, stating the importance of SB 1390 and that you want them to vote YES.**  https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/