SAN DIEGO — A judge has ruled against the San Diego Humane Society in a recent lawsuit over its practice of releasing cats back to the streets without a confirmed caretaker, stating that doing so constitutes unlawful abandonment.
The Dec. 20 ruling from Judge Katherine Bacal came down following a bench trial in San Diego Superior Court, nearly four years after the Pet Assistance Foundation, a Southern California grassroots organization focused on spay-neuter programs, first filed its lawsuit against the Humane Society.
The complaint argued that under the Humane Society’s Community Cat Program, the Humane Society unlawfully turns away stray cats brought in by residents and returns them to the street when they should be brought into their shelter program, making them susceptible to pain, suffering and cruelty.
San Diego Humane Society, on the other hand, has argued that the program is lawful, backed up by science, and enhances the health of cats in the region by reducing the number in shelters.
Bacal said in her ruling that both parties were fighting for what they believed was best for the cats; however, her decision would be based purely on the law.
“It’s not the Court’s obligation to decide what is best for any animal. The only obligation is to decide what is lawful,” Bacal said.
Specifically, Bacal ruled that it constitutes abandonment for the Humane Society to return domesticated (non-feral) cats to the community without a known caretaker and that the organization’s criteria for determining whether a cat is feral or domesticated were too narrow.
Attorney Bryan Pease, who represented the Pet Assistance Foundation, said the San Diego Humane Society’s policy has been to return all healthy-looking cats to the streets unless there is verifiable proof of ownership, such as a microchip or collar.
This practice puts many cats at risk of being killed by a wild animal, hit by a car, or dying from hunger and dehydration. It also leaves other individuals and organizations to care for the cats and do the work that the Humane Society should be doing.
“We were saying, ‘you don’t always have proof that the cat wasn’t abandoned, so if you’re gonna put a cat out there, you need to have some confirmation that someone is caring for them,’” Pease said. “There are groups that are having to step up and do San Diego Humane’s job for it, of caring for cats and trying to get them adopted, which is what San Diego Humane receives tens of millions of dollars in funding to do.”
The San Diego Humane Society released a statement saying that it stands behind the efficacy of its Community Cat Program and the science that supports it.
“We remain unwavering in our belief that this program is the best solution for community cats, and that it is legal under California law,” the Humane Society said. “We are carefully reviewing the judge’s decision and collaborating with our legal team on next steps. This is only the first chapter in this case, and we expect that a future court will rule differently and understand that the Community Cat Program is both legal and the most humane way to save the lives of cats.”
Under the Community Cat Program, cats brought in will go to a shelter if there is “verifiable proof” they have an owner or if they are unfit to live outdoors due to illness, injury or being found in a dangerous spot.
However, cats that do not meet these criteria are determined to be eligible for the Community Cat Program and are returned to the area where they were found after undergoing a medical evaluation, vaccination and sterilization.
“If SDHS determines that the community cats can continue to live successfully outdoors, it returns them as quickly as is safely possible to their outdoor homes in order to minimize the stress from confinement and to reduce the risk of exposure to diseases that is inherent in animal shelters,” SDHS said in court filings.
The Pet Assistance Foundation said the high standards for proof of ownership did not account for cats who may be abandoned and have no one to care for them. Instead, the suit says, the Humane Society would turn away feral cats and those that were friendly with humans and appeared to be domesticated.
The Humane Society argued that just because a cat appeared “friendly” does not mean it is suited to a life indoors, and said they do not differentiate between “friendly” and “feral” cats. In her ruling, Bacal said “feral” and “domesticated” cats should be differentiated.
The Humane Society has accused the Pet Assistance Foundation of attempting to do away with the entire Community Cat Program, which they denied.
The foundation said that while trap/neuter/release programs are undoubtedly beneficial to keeping feral cats healthy and preventing overpopulation, releasing cats without a confirmed caretaker should not be a focus of the program.
Betsy Denhart, Pet Assistance Foundation director, pointed out that Humane Society leaders have claimed since 2019 that domesticated, friendly cats are not being returned to the streets under the program, despite records and residents stating the contrary.
“Fix the program, and make it humane,” Denhart said. “They can require caregivers for the cats they’re releasing, and they can register them. We need to be responsible for these animals … It’s hard, but nobody said it would be easy.”
Going forward, Pease said his firm will submit a proposed judgment to the court outlining specific requirements for the Humane Society.
San Diego Humane Society serves 13 cities in the county and has five shelters located in San Diego, Oceanside, Escondido, El Cajon and Ramona.
