(A) Definitions used in this section.
ANIMAL FEED shall mean any substance or product, including additives, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be used as feed or drink for an animal.
COMMUNITY CAT shall mean a free-roaming cat—without a collar and owner's name, phone number, address—which may or may not be vaccinated for rabies, who may be cared for by one or more residents of the immediate area who is/are known or unknown; a community cat may or may not be feral. COMMUNITY CATS are not wildlife.
COMMUNITY CAT CAREGIVER shall mean a person who, in accordance with and pursuant to a policy of trap-neuter/spay-return "TNR", provides care, including, food, shelter or medical care to a community cat, while not being considered the owner, harborer, controller, or keeper of a community cat.
EARTIPPING shall mean the removal of the distal one-quarter of a community cat's left ear, which is approximately three-quarter- inch, or one centimeter, in an adult and proportionally smaller in a kitten. This procedure is performed under sterile conditions while the cat is under anesthesia, in compliance with any applicable federal or state law, and under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Eartips are designed to identify a community cat as being sterilized and lawfully vaccinated for rabies.
TRAP-NEUTER/SPAY-RETURN shall mean the process of humanely trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, eartipping, and returning community cats to their original location.
(B) Permitted acts for the management of community cat populations.
(1) Permitted acts the following actions shall be permitted by community cat caregivers in the Village of Weston as part of trap-neuter/spay-return "TNR":
(a) Assessment to determine the amount of community cats in the area.
(b) Trapping, for the sole purpose of sterilizing, vaccinating for rabies, and eartipping community cats, in compliance with any applicable federal or state law, and under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, where applicable.
1. Trapping is conducted only on private property with the consent of the property owner;
2. Trapping is done only during daylight hours using edible non-poisonous food to entice the cats into the trap;
3. The liability of performing a "TNR" is upon solely the community cat caregiver performing the action.
(c) A person who returns a community cat to its original location while conducting TNR is not deemed to have abandoned the cat per R.C. § 959.01, and shall also not be guilty of violating § 174.01 when the animal feed is left in functional traps and used in conjunction with the TNR.
(2) Prohibited acts. The following actions shall be prohibited in the Village of Weston:
(a) Prohibits leaving animal feed outside in open areas or in enclosed areas such as, but not limited to, open garages, car ports, tool sheds, lean-tos, under open porches, or in the right-of-way for pets, strays and wild animals. However, food may be left out during daylight hours, provided that the feeding area must be removed and cleaned each day.
(Ord. 2023-21, passed 9-18-23)