Greetings everyone!



What are the laws in your state/province that pertain to rescue groups and haven homes, in particular, relating to ownership of the animals, responsibilities for the animals, rights of rescuers, rights of haven homes.



In NYS, rescues are in a gray area of the laws. Haven homes are not recognized at all.



In NYS, animals are considered to be personal property. If you pay for an animal, it's yours.





I had a good talk with Chris Fitzgerald at RAS today. (He is the director of the local animal control) Ownership of animals by rescue groups/haven homes is a murky area of the law. He is not fond of it. (To prove ownership of a dog in an ideal situation, you would have the purchase papers, license and physical custody. For a cat, you would have the purchase papers and physical custody.



In less than ideal situations, the person with physical custody is considered to be the owner of the cat or dog.



If the person with the purchase papers and/or license is not allowed access to that animal, then it's a police issue.



If the person with physical custody but who does not have the purchase papers/license sells the animal without the consent of the person who has the purchase papers/license, it's a police issue.



Rescues are not recognized as shelters in NYS, so they are in a gray area; the laws pertaining to shelters do not apply to them.



Foster homes are not recognized at all, so they are considered to be the owners of the animals in their custody unless there is some legal agreement in place with the people who run the rescue. AND the foster home would not be allowed to license more animals than are allowed by that foster's jurisdiction, no matter where the animals were held. So one person in a rescue cannot hold all the licenses even though those animals were not housed on that person's property. Unlicensed is an issue if an animal gets out and is picked up by Animal Control Officers, then whatever penalties are normally applied by the jurisdiction will be applied to the person who was supposed to have physical custody of the animal.



I forgot to ask how microchips might affect things, but I suspect they are treated like purchase papers and licenses.



Thank you,

Mary
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Tarrigo and friends

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